


art of how we grieve

by AshSPN



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Children, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Angst, Basically this whole work is just a lot of bad things that Dean is doing., Blood, Breaking all the rules, Depersonalization, Foster Care, Heavy disrespect from dean jfc, Lots of Cursing, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Instability, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-22 05:40:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 51,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2496509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshSPN/pseuds/AshSPN
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Seth were both kids who were kind of cut from the same cloth. From around the same age, they were taken from their families for different reasons and put into foster care, where for a short period of time, they ended up in the same household: the Reigns household. They all live together until Roman needs emergency service and they have to be relinquished into the Care again to find new homes due to insubstantial funds.</p><p>Dean ends up in the Cena household. Seth ends up with in the Helmsley-McMahon household. They don't see each other for years, always going to different schools, until one day, they don't.</p><p>**on hiatus until further notice**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Heya guys~ I came up with this idea recently and I have been super excited about it! This is more of a prologue to the series than anything, but it really, I feel, sets the idea of what's happening. Plus, it's super feelsy!
> 
> Beware of mentions of multiple mental breakdowns up ahead!

The thing that Dean always _loved_ most about thinking about his childhood is thinking about just how far he’d come from being that little child who was barely five years old who was living in the projects and spending most of his days trying to figure out how to make mac ‘n’ cheese on the stovetop while his mom was off at work. Dean doesn’t remember much about the place that he was living in with his mom – while his dad was away in jail. Sounds like he was living the life, doesn’t it? – but he could tell you that it was his biggest dream to get out of the place. So, of course, when five year old little Dean Ambrose opened the door one day when his mom wasn’t home yet and he was up well past his bedtime to find cops there, he knew he was finally free. It’s not like his mom was a _bad parent per se_ ( _at least, at the time, little five year old Dean Ambrose didn’t think so_ ). She just did some bad things and got caught up with some bad people and that’s how that cookie crumbled in the end. Dean doesn’t say he misses her because he doesn’t remember her well enough to miss her. It’s just flashes of hair and eyes. She doesn’t possess a full face to him anymore.

He was placed in foster care when he was taken and he remembers hearing all kinds of talk about how they were trying to contact someone of his family who would be able to take care of them. He doesn’t tell them that all of his family were a lot like his mom – or his dad – because he wanted to see just how long they would try to help him before they finally just gave up. He was put into a home during the first week of his being in foster care, but after he landed a fist in the face of a kid who tried to push him around, he was moved to another. Then another. Then another. To say that Dean was a problematic child would be being nice. He was an angry child, he always had been. You had to be angry and you had to be dominant to survive where he was living before, going to the school he went to. It’s just how it was. He went through six different foster homes before he found himself entering the Reigns household.

The Reigns were nice people who were new to this whole fostering thing. They had a birth son of their own named Roman, who was only 6 months older than him, but was taller and already looked scary to Dean, who was very short compared. Dean was quiet for a while, finding his inner omega and swallowing his pride. This wasn’t like the other homes. This wasn’t another foster kid. This was a kid who had ran this household for years now and Dean was going to respect that. Dean knew what respect was and even at Roman’s young age, his demeanor demanded for it. It was two weeks of Dean being relatively quiet and staying away from the older boy before they really started to bond. Roman was tough, he was sturdy. Dean, at the time, didn’t know that’s just what he needed. He needed an older brother. He needed someone to hold him up when he felt like he was about to fall. Roman starts talking to Dean after those two weeks of terrified silence, the two six-year-olds finding every little thing to talk about with light in their eyes and smiles on their faces and Dean remembers for the first time feeling like he made a friend.

But Dean had a lot more problems than he really didn’t liked to admit at the time. There were times when he would just _snap_ and he would go on a rage-fueled breakdown and his only goal was to make everything around him as broken as he was. He had been having them as long as he could remember and with no mother around, it usually ended in a lot of broken matter. It was five weeks into his stay at the Reigns household that Dean experiences the first breakdown he had since his last home. It’s filled with shouting at the top of his lungs and trying to destroy everything in sight, but it’s ended quicker than it started when Roman wraps him so tight in his arms with a strength neither of them knew he had. All he did was hold Dean through everything to make sure he didn’t hurt himself – even though Roman got bitten and scratched in the process. It was in that moment that Dean placed a full body trust into the other boy and it was in that moment that he felt that he had truly found a family that would never leave him behind.

As Dean and Roman grew closer, they grew to the point where Dean was courageous and comfortable enough to start pushing at those alpha-male boundaries to see what he could do. When these arguments start coming along is when there was a brand new addition to the Reigns household; a smaller, black haired boy who was 6 months younger than Dean and therefore a year younger than Roman. He would fit in immediately and was to be protected at all costs. Roman and Dean had decided that the day before he showed up and when he actually showed up, they were sure that they would make good on their promise. The boy’s name was Seth and he was really the thing that kept everything from getting too bad. He was smart and he made sure that Dean and Roman’s arguments never got to a harsh point like they had at some points during the past. There was never pushing or shoving when Seth around and there was never the need to breakdown because Dean was always terrified that if he did, he would hurt his little brother. He’d never had a little brother, but he knew that the only thing he wanted was to make sure he was okay. He wanted to make sure he was the best big brother he’s ever had; like Roman was to Dean.

Roman, Dean, and Seth were inseparable from the first week that Seth arrived and it continued that way. With each passing day within the household, they were proven to only be getting closer. It was one night when they were outside in the backyard having their own camping trip away from the house that they made a pact with each other. It was after they had their parents help them make s’mores and after Dean had rubbed his chocolate coated fingers onto Seth and Roman’s cheeks and had them retaliated; after Dean had been put on scary story duty because he had seen the most horror movies on late night television; after they were all tucked up in the tent and in their sleeping bags that they decided that they never wanted to have to be apart again. This is also where Dean and Seth both talk about how they ended up where they were now and about their lives back at home. Dean went first, telling about the conditions that he lived in and how the cops just showed up one day. He talks about how he felt like he was left behind because no one had come for him yet and how he still doesn’t know where his mom is. He’s wrapped in two sets of little arms to keep him from falling away from them. Seth had learned from verbal speech about what Dean goes through. They’ve been doing so well with fighting the monsters that Dean finds haunting him in his own mind.

Seth is the one who speaks next. He speaks about how he was living with his parents and how his mom was laid off from her job. He speaks about how they lost their house and had to move into a smaller place. He talks about how he couldn’t buy new clothes and how their water got shut off. And he speaks about how one day he was in school and got called down to the office to be taken away. Dean doesn’t remember the exact things that he said, but he remembers a crack in his voice when he starts talking about how he was so confused and how he still spoke to his parents but it just wasn’t the same because he didn’t think he was ever going to go home again. In that moment, Dean remembers looking at his little brother in a different light and he remembers Roman and him both wrapping their arms around Seth as he tries to force himself not to cry.

The months pass by without much of a hassle for anything. Things were falling naturally into place and the boys were still growing closer by the day. Summer was drawing nearer and Roman turned 7 while Seth turned 6 and they shared a day for their birthdays and a lot of the kids from their school came because Roman was popular and Seth had been good at making friends. Dean had sat to the side during the party because the thing about him is he had never been good at making friends with anyone but his brothers. He remembers hearing the parents talk and remembers some glances thrown his way and talk about both him being a foster kid and then there was some kind of bullshit talk about ‘Middle Child Syndrome’ or something. He remembers just sitting there and taking it, grinning every time one of his brothers would look over at him with a grin of their own but feeling vaguely ill.

It’s when Seth’s birth parents show up that Dean is hit full on with the force of just how fake his new family really was. He had been sitting here for the last months wanting to believe that they were growing closer together and that they were the things that they needed to actually be a real family. But every week, Seth got a call from his parents and now they were here and Seth looked so happy and Dean didn’t want to get attached to something that wouldn’t last. It was in the midst of the excitement that Dean slips away, telling himself he was only going to be taking a walk to clear his head and let all the families have their time. Thinking of families led to thinking about his mother though and he ends up going into a breakdown, but this one was quiet and he sprinted too far and into unknown territory to relieve himself of the tension. It takes them two days to find Dean, who had harbored himself in a tree and had heard them yelling but hadn’t been able to bring himself to get down and face them. He had ruined their birthday party because of his own feelings. He was guilty.

It was only when he heard Seth and Roman’s broken, pleading shouts from the car while it was raining that he scales down from the tree, his face passive and blank when the car was stopping and everyone was running to him. He didn’t know what to feel, but he knew that he wanted to cry, but didn’t. He thought for sure that he was going to be put in another home for this, but he wasn’t. He was taken home and bathed and fed, but he doesn’t speak to anyone. As was fair, Roman and Seth didn’t talk to him either, not for a while. After two days, Seth tries, but can’t get anything out of Dean, so he gets aggravated and left Dean alone again. It was after four days that Roman tries. He goes as far as to try and start an argument with Dean because he knew that Dean couldn’t resist arguing and protecting his image. It doesn’t work. Roman doesn’t try again and Dean doesn’t blame him. He wouldn’t try again either.

The only people that Dean talks to are his foster parents, and that’s only to ask if he can call his mom and they seem to get it. They promise him that they’d try. And try they did. Within a week, Dean was talking to his mom on the phone, but it was nothing like he expected it to be. She wasn’t like she used to be. She wasn’t laidback or easy to talk to or just easy to not talk to at all. She was brash and she sounded like she was struggling and angry. She didn’t sound like she cared much about Dean or how he was doing at all. She told him she was in jail and laughed at him when he asked if she had seen his dad, saying that’s not how jail worked. She just talked so much about herself and not about when she was coming home or whether Dean was okay or not. She didn’t ask anything about him. She just assumed. She always just _assumed_.  He was getting more aggravated by the moment as she just talks and talks and talks like he wasn’t six years old and he could handle everything that she was laying on him. About how she might not come home at all because of the charges she had and how she hated where she was and how she just wanted to be out. It was weighing on Dean because he couldn’t do anything, but she wouldn’t care if he was the one complaining. She never cared. She wasn’t like Seth’s parents or Roman’s parents. He didn’t know why he tried.

He was building up tension on tension as he listens to her speak all about herself and her problems until he finally just snapped and asked if she had missed him at all, if she _cared about how he was doing at all_. Her only response had been, “ _Don’t be such a baby, Dean._ ” It had led to Dean spitting out how he hoped she died in jail, just like he had heard her speak about his father before, back when they lived at home and not in a different household and in a jail cell, before hanging up. Roman’s parents were there and just staring at him for a moment, as if waiting for that shoe to drop, and it did. Dean had attempted to throw the phone at the wall and had fallen into screaming out a thousand curses and trying his best to fight off the hands that were trying to keep him safe from himself.

It wasn’t until he had two smaller pairs of arms wrapping around him that he really felt all of the fight drain from him, especially when Seth was there pleading for him to calm down because he was hurting himself. He remembers all of the fight leaving him in that moment and he remembers sagging against Roman, who just helped him down until they were on the floor and he was cradled against his chest. Dean remembers crying his eyes out because his mom didn’t love him and he would never have a family like he had with Roman and Seth ever again and it would never last. He didn’t say any of this out loud, so he doesn’t think anyone ever knew about his fears. It was just a long time of Roman cradling him tight against him and Seth’s face pressed against Dean’s back, telling him everything was going to be okay. And at the time, he believed him. There was nothing else that he could do besides believe him.

Dean didn’t remember how much later it was before he remembers Roman – with a bit of trouble – was picking him up and taking them to their where the three of them shared a room, despite his parents’ demand that he not do that because he would hurt himself. Dean doesn’t want Roman to hurt himself, but it was too late to complain. Normally, it was Roman on the single bed and Seth and Dean on the bunk bed in their room. That night, Dean fell asleep feeling safer than he ever had, curled up against Roman with Seth curled up at his back, his brothers barricading him in and keeping him away from the harm of the world. That night would forever be branded into his mind for more than one reason.

It was only two weeks later when Roman was being rushed to the hospital with extreme pain and being rushed into surgery for a hernia. Dean was terrified and worried and could feel a breakdown coming on, especially when he hears about what causes a hernia. Lifting heavy objects was one of the reasons and that night flashed into Dean’s mind and he remembers having to go to the bathroom with Seth close behind to make sure he doesn’t cause a scene. He knows the beginning of the end when he sees it and this wasn’t going to end well for any of them.

He was right, though; Dean. He knew that it was the beginning of the end and it was proven to be correct. Roman’s parents – the parents Dean was starting to call ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ much too easily – had to relinquish their foster kids due to insubstantial funds and send them back to the care, where they were issued into two different homes within the next week. Dean was moved into a household where there was another boy – the birth child of the parents who he was fostered to – named John. Dean started calling them the Cena family or the Cena household from the moment that he moved in. Seth was moved into the Helmsley-McMahon family, where they had a son who was adopted from where they had fostered him before. Seth and Dean talked every day for about a week and talked their parents into allowing them to go see Roman after he was released from the hospital.

Dean remembers nearly breaking down into tears because he remembers feeling it was all his fault, but Roman punched him lightly in the shoulder and told him to suck it up ‘cause he wasn’t the one who had surgery. Dean laughed and hit him back just as lightly and they were okay, just like that ( _even if it wasn’t okay in Dean’s mind_ ). It was for three months living separately that they talk their parents into taking them to Roman’s every day. They weren’t in school because it was summer, but maybe it would have been easier to see each other in school. It works well for the most part, until one day, after school starts and Seth turns out to be going to another school, they can’t meet up together. And then it happens again. And again. And it happens for a month straight that they can’t see each other.

It eats away at Dean, who knew this was going to happen. He knew it. He knew that once he messed everything up, it would never be the same. They said that they would never leave each other behind, that they never wanted to be apart. Then Dean had to go and mess it up because he had to do something stupid. Maybe he belonged in jail, just like the rest of his family. Maybe he was just as stupid as the rest of them. It’s been 36 days since he’s seen Seth and he’s worried to death about his baby brother – and it is his baby brother, he would always be his baby brothers, they made a pact – when Dean has a breakdown that’s the most violent he’s ever had and Roman isn’t there.

He’s with the Cena household and he’s in the room they gave him to call his own that’s so empty that he doesn’t know what to do with it. He’s at the place that’s supposed to be his home but feels too clean and smooth and even for it to belong to him. His fist collides into the wall and he knocks a lamp down and he’s shouting and he can’t see straight. The next thing he knows, he’s being strapped down and he can’t remember anything besides waking up in a white room where he can’t hurt himself and thinking that maybe this is just what jail feels like.

He’s there for two weeks, that’s what they tell him. He was put in there because he was a danger to himself and they wanted to make sure that he was going to be okay. He doesn’t talk much, even when they try to talk to him. The father of the Cena household – his foster dad, John Cena Sr. – comes to pick him up after the two weeks with a soft, almost understanding smile on his face. But he doesn’t understand and there’s something more to that smile that Dean’s not happy about; there’s apology there, there’s sorrow. Something’s wrong, but he doesn’t want to think about it.

He’s driven home in a deathly silent car because the attempts of conversation are brushed off because Dean just doesn’t care. They reach the Cena household and that’s when Dean is shooting up in his seat at the sight of who’s waiting in the driveway. Roman and the Reigns family are there, all with bright smiles on their faces and he doesn’t remember the last time that he’s been so happy to see Roman smiling. He’s opening the car door before the car’s even stopped and he’s sprinting full speed at Roman who is just as ready to hug him as Dean is.

They’re locked in an embrace that’s almost too tight, but Dean hasn’t seen him in what feels like ever and all he’s seen are doctors and he realizes he’s crying before he can really stop himself and he’s moving from Roman to hug the parents of the Reigns family. He almost wishes that there was more, that this is just like it was before, but he knows it’s not because there’s something missing, like something’s ripped out of his heart, and he thinks he knows what that apologetic smile is about now.

 _Momma_ , he remembers saying, looking up at Roman’s mom, Patricia, his eyes wet with tears and she looks like she’s about to cry just hearing him call her that. He knows that this can’t be easy for her, because she’s seen him at his worst, but it had never been bad enough for him to go through what he had just been through ( _and it would_ never _be that bad again if Dean had any say_ ). _Momma, where’s Seth? Where’s my baby brother?_ Because she would know, wouldn’t she? He could trust her, she would _tell him the truth and that’s all he needed right now. He just needed to know where his baby brother was._

The Cena household was standing to the side, all hesitant, even their little boy who was named after his father quiet and looking a little pale in the face. Roman is already trying to pull Dean into his arms, which is a bad sign; that is always a bad sign. _Ro, Ro, wait, where’s Seth? Where is he? I have to know he’s okay, Ro. I have to know my baby brother’s okay. He’s our baby brother, we have to make sure he’s okay!_ Dean remembers feeling like he was in hysterics and he looks at Roman and Roman gives him the answer no one else will without saying a word. _Seth’s not here_. That’s what he gets. Above him, his Momma’s hand is going into his hair and that’s not a good sign either, because he feels the panic ebbing up around him again and he’s clinging to Roman ever tighter.

The words are what hits him the hardest. _Dean, honey, Seth’s parents don’t think it’s a good idea for you two to be spending any more time together._ He’s a danger. He messed up again. He messed everything up. _They don’t understand, baby. It’s not your fault. They’re just trying to do what’s best for him. Isn’t that what you want? What’s best for Seth?_ Of course that’s what he wanted. That’s all he ever wanted. He barely spent half a year with him but Seth had gotten under his skin and into his heart and it feels like he’s missing an arm knowing he can’t see him again. He can’t even see him in school. He’s failed to protect his baby brother because he was a danger to his baby brother in the first place.

 _I thought we were his family_ , Dean remembers sobbing out against Roman’s shoulder all too well and Roman’s arms were wrapping around him tighter and he thinks he hears a hitch in his older brother’s throat, but he doesn’t want to think about that any more than he wants to think about how Seth’s gone. He doesn’t want to think that maybe because Roman was here with Dean that he couldn’t see Seth anymore either. He doesn’t want to think that maybe Seth was left all along with his new family where he has a stranger for a brother while Dean got a stranger and Roman all the same. He doesn’t want to think that was the fate of his little brother because his baby brother deserved so much more than that for all of the pain that he’s gone through.

But then he’s led inside by the Cena household and the Reigns family eat dinner with them. Dean finds himself feeling nauseous halfway through his meal and he wonders idly why he never felt this way when his mother was taken away. There’s so much that has happened in his life that he feels he should have felt about as strongly as he feels about this, but at the same time, he understands. None of that felt like it was because of him. He didn’t fail in any of those aspects. His mother was on the wrong path, his father was never around anyway, his family wasn’t really his family at all. This… this was family. Even in due time, he thinks that the Cena household would become family to him if they happened to stay together long enough.

It was about a year later – a year of these people trying to be as gentle with him as possible and taking him to talk to therapists and trying to find different methods to control his anger and his temper – that he was adopted into the family after no one in his family proved to be a good fit for being his guardian. He’s not surprised and he has no complaints that he’d say verbally about the Cena household. They have tried _so many methods to get him to be okay._ _So many different methods_ but they don’t let him do the one that he knows works the best: _arguing_. They say it’s not healthy, but he would beg to differ. He manages to pull their goody-two-shoe son into a few heated arguments that leave Dean feeling on top of the world afterwards, but the therapist just says it’s because of his ego or something. Therapists don’t know anything, that’s what his mom told him before. And maybe she was right.

Remembering Seth is still like a knife in his chest but Roman is around almost every day to make it better, and when he’s not around, they talk on the phone. Roman joins the football team – something that John, his brother, is already involved in. (He calls the John Cena Sr. ‘Padre’ for shits and giggles; Carol Cena is known as ‘Madre’ for the same reason. Patricia and Sika Reigns are ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ to him and would always be). Roman tries to talk Dean into getting involved, but after watching Roman and Dean wrestle around, Madre and Padre decide that’s not the best idea that could be presented. Roman’s the only one who doesn’t treat him like a ticking time bomb.

Roman slaps him around and wrestles with him and takes him down and _argues_ and it makes him feel like normal; that’s all he ever wanted in the first place. The Cena household feels more like home after he begins to hang up what feels like thousands of pro wrestling posters all around him and Roman helps him decorate the walls just the way that Dean wants. Years pass on by and Dean almost forgets about Seth, save the nagging feeling at the back of his heart where he knows that he can’t just forget that easily.

When John gets into the Vince McMahon’s School of Excellence – even hearing the name McMahon causes Dean’s skin to crawl because they’re the bastards who took his baby brother from him – and Dean is still in 7th grade, Roman a grade ahead of him, things start getting a bit worse.

John joins the football team and also on that team is Seth’s older brother, Randy Helmsley-McMahon, the adopted boy that lived with Seth. John becomes Dean’s source of information about Seth and John does it because he wants to help Dean. Dean becomes obsessed in his own way, but he’s glad to hear that Seth is doing okay and was even adopted into the family over the years after his parents voluntarily gave up their rights. Roman tells him he needs to stop worrying and Dean tries. They all go to the football games and Roman doesn’t point Seth out even though they both know he’s there and after a few games, Dean tells himself he doesn’t care anymore.

When the time comes along, Roman gets into the Vince McMahon’s School of Excellence and gets onto the football team, so Dean is just that much more alone as he watches his two brothers on the field going against their enemies. He doesn’t look in the stands, but sometimes he thinks he feels a gaze on the back of his neck. Roman tells Dean one day that Randy is a dick and Dean doesn’t doubt it. Roman, another day, tells Dean that Seth’s the same way now, and that makes Dean feel bitter.

When it’s Dean’s time to apply to get into Vince McMahon’s School of Excellence, he doesn’t make it. The test results get ‘lost in the mail’ somewhere, according to the office, when they were supposed to be sent back to the Cena family for review. They didn’t want any trouble and Dean doesn’t care, so they don’t bring it up more than once. He goes to another school and goes through his Freshman year. And now, here he is: only a month into his Sophomore year and the school’s telling his Padre and Madre that they understand Dean has problems, but they either need to transfer him to another school, or he would have an expulsion on his record. They go home, and after a few hours on the phone with some persuasion and some _threatening of suing, oh he likes this_ … hey, look what do you know?

_Dean’s the newest student at Vince McMahon’s School of Excellence._

Now, how about we get on to the actual story and skip away from all of this childhood emotional bullshit? I bet you guys are going to _love_ this story.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of school is pretty dull for Dean. Too much stress. Too many smug assholes. He's going to punch someone in the face, he can feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of boring, and I'm really sorry about that. I'm just trying to go into the day and not do too many timeskips, because this is more than just an Ambrollins fic. This is basically alternate universe Dean's journey through high school and how he spreads his own wings and makes a name for himself. I hope everyone enjoys it. I actually wrote a lot more for only half his first day than I meant to.

It’s just like the first day of school all over again, Dean notes to himself as he listens to his parents – Mr. and Mrs. Cena, his _Madre_ and _Padre_ – ramble on and on about how Dean would have to behave himself now, because they were on a strict watch and it was a privilege for him to be in Vince McMahon’s School of Excellence ( _VMSE, for short, apparently. Dean’s going to call is_ Vamoose _and see how long it takes before someone tells him to stop_ ).Dean didn’t really get what was so privileging about it. Sure, it was a great school to say you went to, but the owners weren’t exactly his biggest fans and he knew already that they would be trying to do everything in their power to make sure he’s out before he’s even past Christmas break.

Of course, that’s not how _Madre_ and _Padre_ were seeing it. They just wanted Dean to be on his best behavior so Mr. and Mrs. Helmsley-McMahon didn’t have anything to throw him out over, but they should just know that’s not going to happen. He would play along with their game for now though. In fact, knowing that he was playing along with their games explained a lot of things about how he looked today. He was dressed in a pair of jeans that didn’t have very many rips in it and a nice tee with a decent pair of sneakers. If there was one thing that Dean was pleased about when it came to attending _Vamoose_ , it was the fact that they weren’t too strict on their dress code. They let their students wear whatever they wanted within reason. You were allowed to wear casual clothing as long as they weren’t vulgar and they didn’t look like they were falling apart. Most of Dean’s clothes didn’t fit the dress code due to all the burns and cuts in them, but they found something.

The only thing that Dean was wearing that wasn’t in the dress code was his Batman hoodie, but he had stayed adamant in wanting to wear it despite all of the arguments his parents tried to use to talk him out of it. They learned quickly from the moment that they had started fostering Dean that he was not easy to shake and soon just gave in. Dean hated having to be a bad son, but he wasn’t going to be the American dream son like John was.

That’s what terrifies him the most about going to this school, if Dean was completely honest. To go to a school where an older sibling is already, to live in that shadow they had made, to try and force yourself to outshine them. And to have a sibling like _John Cena_ , the American boy who everyone knew and loved, _who was the Captain of the football team;_ it really made it hard to think about. Except, Dean didn’t want to outshine John, not at all. He didn’t want to be a _John Cena_. He wanted to be a _Dean_ _Cena_ (and _God_ , did he honestly hate that name. While he had no contact with his birth parents anymore, he was going to be changing his last name back to _Ambrose_ as soon as he was eighteen, he had already decided). _Vamoose_ would never know what hit it when they finally got a sight of how bad Dean could actually be, because he would be nothing that they were expecting; especially if they were expecting him to be anything like his brother.

His head was already beginning to pound as _Madre_ and _Padre_ rambled on about something or another about _Vamoose_ and the authorities that would probably be watching him, which they had been discussing for _ages_ now. Dean hated thinking about it. He hated thinking about having someone’s eyes on him at all times just waiting for him to screw up because _screwing up_ is something that Dean’s always been good at, from the moment he was born, from the moment he _screwed up_ so bad that he couldn’t see his baby brother anymore. The knot in his stomach twists enough to make him grimace, reminding him once again for the hundredth time since he learned he would be a _Vamoose Superstar_ that he was going to be in the same school as him. As Seth.

They still hadn’t spoken since that last faithful day, and from what Roman tells him, he doesn’t think he wants to, but at the same time, just to know that he’s doing okay and he was having a good life would be enough for Dean. Dean never felt like the connection between him and his other two brothers had ever been cut like the Helmsley-McMahon family had tried to cut it; Dean supposes it would all be in due time to see if the feeling was mutual with Seth like it was with him and Roman.

It had been a long morning since Dean was woken up by an alarm Roman had set the previous night before he had gone home so he could get an adequate amount of sleep himself. Dean had gotten up and showered, actively napping against the wall of the shower until he nearly fell before he really washed. After the shower, he had put on the clothes that Roman had laid out for him the previous night as well ( _because Roman was playing mother like he always does for his little brother_ ) and then went down and got breakfast, where this whole big pep talk had actually started.

They were almost to the school and the pounding in Dean’s head was just getting worse to the point where Dean’s fists were clenching and he wanted to punch out the window of the car. He clenches his eyes shut, his breathing getting a bit rougher, and _god damn it, it had been three months since his last breakdown and they’re going to make him ruin his streak and that will surely get him kicked out of the damn school._ Luckily, John, Mr. Golden Boy at his side, seemed to notice and mutters to his parents for a moment that Dean can’t hear over the pounding in his head. When the car is stopping, he doesn’t bother trying to say goodbye. He just gets out and heads into the school with his backpack – that he’ll never use again after today – heavy against him.

He’s been inside of the school before and basically knows where everything was, but as he enters the school, the pounding in his head is pushed away when he hears a familiar female’s voice calling out his name. His head snaps into the direction and he sees two people working towards him – both adults. In fact, they were the infamous Hunter and Stephanie Helmsley-McMahon. He’s immediately straightening up, pushing the hood of his Batman hoodie off of his head and arching an eyebrow, almost as if he’s challenging them to say something. He’s immediately digging into his bag though, pulling out a note and holding it towards them when they get close enough. It was a note from his last therapist, who he hadn’t seen in over six months before his _Madre_ and _Padre_ told him to at least go talk to him for a while so they could get some form of note from him for Dean starting a new school. Dean hadn’t bothered reading it, so he didn’t know what it said as Hunter took it and read it over, handing it to Stephanie next.

She folds the note and holds it in her hand after she reads it, giving a tight smile as she looks at Dean. “Welcome, Mr. Cena, to Vince McMahon’s School of Excellence. I’m sure you know a lot about it already considering your brother’s been going here for four years already, but since you’ve entered so late in the school year, we thought that we would give you a quick tour to make sure you are not late to any of your classes,” she says, her smile getting a sharper edge to it as she speaks. Dean is exasperated for more than one reason, but the two main ones are because _wow_ , these guys are thinking in advance, aren’t they? Making sure Dean knew his way around so he wasn’t late to class so he didn’t have any excuse for not being in them on time. And two, _it’s only a month into the school year._ Did they expect all of their students to be geniuses about the school’s layout already?

“Do I look like a Cena to you?” is what’s immediately out of Dean’s mouth before he could process what he’s saying. John is entering the school behind him and Dean decides to use it to his advantage. “Because I’m technically not really a Cena. No blood relations; just adopted in.” He grabs John by the arm, throwing an arm around his shoulder as he tugs him closer, patting his jaw. “See? I don’t have this all-American, right and true jawline that my brother here does. I would prefer if you called me _Dean_ , rather than that Mr. Cena crap. Especially considering you’re a few decades older than I am, ma’am.”

“Not everyone can appreciate your sense of humor, _Mr. Wayne_ ,” John is saying, trying to cover Dean’s tracks like the fantastic older brother that he was, patting Dean on the chest where the Batman symbol was. Batman and Superman. The game they used to play as kids where the nicknames had carried over. “I’ve gotta football meeting before class. You behave yourself or I’ll sign up to be our water boy.”

“Empty threats make the world go round, _Kent_ ,” Dean states, patting John’s face again before pushing him away. “But yeah, I much prefer _Dean_ to Mr. Cena. So, if you could indulge me in just that way and maybe I’ll indulge you in letting you show me around so you can have a reason to kick me out if I decided to misbehave and be late to class.”

John is acting like he didn’t hear because he continues walking and Dean is in an almost heated stare down with the principal and vice principal of _Vamoose_. He just smiles, innocently, and they both drop their glare a few notches before they look at each other and just nod.

“Please, Dean, follow me and we’ll show you to your locker and down which path you should take to your first class, which is…” Hunter is starting, trailing off as he pats himself, looking for a copy of Dean’s schedule, but Dean already has it memorized.

“English II with Regal. Room 203. I get to my locker, walk down towards the cafeteria, take the stairs on the left, and then go to the right until I hit two-oh-three and I’m there. John says it should only take me about three minutes to get there from my homeroom if I’m good at forcing my way through a sea of students. Which I am, by the way. So, first class is covered. In fact, my brothers, Roman and John, they both helped me a lot already so you’re really just wasting your time here. How about you go onto the second part as to why you’re trying to show me around?” Dean drawls and he gets a sharp look from both of them.

“You better start showing us some respect or we’re all going to have a bit of tension between us, _Dean_ ,” Hunter is growling out and Dean looks at him in entertainment, shoving his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie, waiting to see if that sharp look diminishes some, but it doesn’t.

“We’ve had tension since I was barely 8 years old, sir,” Dean says simply, but his voice was dropping to a cold tone. “And that tension’s just been getting worse since you made a decision based on personal gain not to let me into this school last year. If you expected me to come in and be a good little puppy for you two, you’re horrendously mistaken. I’m not here to be a follower. I’m here to learn and get the fuck out. If you have some _tension_ you need to settle towards a teenager, _sir_ , you should really talk to a therapist about it.”

The tension thickens and Dean’s half sure he’s going to get socked in the face, but then Stephanie’s hand is on Hunter’s chest and she’s taking the lead on all of this. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding here, Dean. Truly. We’re just so stressed from fitting you into the schedules of our teachers when they thought they were fine for the year. I’m sure you’re stressed from switching schools as well, but it seems you’re pretty well prepared for everything that is being thrown your way. We’re glad to hear that. But we’re not entirely sure if you’re familiar with the rules, especially since they didn’t apply to you until today.” They really are thinking ahead, making sure Dean knew the rules that he would surely break.

Stephanie continues, “I’m glad to see you’re… mainly in dress code. I just have to ask that once you are at your locker and settling in that you take off your hoodie. Here at VMSE, we try to give our students as much freedom as we can within restrictions.  We’re just going to go over the simple things here. We do not expect you to be lingering in the hallways before classes start, but we understand if you want to talk to your friends some. You must be in the lunchroom if you are eating or drinking something, unless you have a doctor’s note. We do not allow smoking anywhere on the school grounds. We _do_ have cigarette smoke detectors in the bathrooms to make sure no one tries that move. We feel the need to warn students about it just in case they start to feel adventurous. We really don’t want to _have_ to expel any of our students.” _Well. Damn._ That might be a problem, considering Dean had taken up the habit of smoking to try and keep himself calm and generally did it ever few hours. In fact, he had a pack in his backpack that he’d be putting in his hoodie pocket after he emptied the bag – because there was no way he would be taking the hoodie off anytime soon. He’d find a way around the no smoking rule. In his own little thought bubble, he misses the rest of what Stephanie is saying, but he catches sight of Roman coming down the hall and he turns into an excited puppy.

“Yeah, okay, got it. Rules and stuff. Thanks for the refresher, but I generally knew all of that. I’ve gotta go now, but if you think of anything else, come find me. You know my schedule!” Dean speaks quickly before he’s moving around them and practically bouncing towards Roman who was arching a brow at him as Dean flings himself at him. “Ro~”

“Were you just talking to them about something important?” Roman huffs out, sounding just slightly disapproving, but otherwise amused. Roman really did understand Dean so well.

“No, ‘course not. When has an adult ever said something important to me?” Dean asks in a scoff as he pats Roman on the shoulder. “You must hate this so much. You know. Having to see my ugly mug every day now. Not that you didn’t before, but you at least got a break during the day. Now I’m going to be haunting your ass.”

“Not exactly scared. Was worried ‘bout you when you went to that other school,” Roman huffs, continuing to move along now, Dean following behind him easily, a smile on his face that was always permanent when he was around Roman.

“Aw, Romie, you were _worried_ about me?” Dean crows, gaining a few looks their way and Roman is shaking his head in exasperation. “That’s so cute. You’re always looking out for me. And with that being said, you should help me find my locker.”

“Your locker? Shouldn’t you already know where that is?” Roman questions, looking over at him and Dean just helplessly shrugs his shoulders, causing Roman to give a sigh. “Fine. Wasn’t it in the East Hall? 117 or something?”

“You remember things so well!” Dean gushes, grinning as he smacks a loud kiss onto Roman’s cheek. “You’re such a smarty-pants!”

“And you’re such a child,” Roman says, giving Dean a good shove to get some distance between the two of them, causing Dean to smile wider just on principle.

“I’m not a child, I’m your little brother!” Dean states proudly, and that makes Roman smile and the whole conversation is dropped just because of that. It was always a discussion ender and Dean knew it and used it to his advantage. Roman never called him out on it so it’s never had a true reason to end.

Roman shows Dean to his locker and tells him that he has to get ready for class now himself and leaves Dean alone again after a few moments of making sure Dean was going to be alright. It wasn’t like Dean hadn’t been on his own in another school for a year already, even though he _had_ gotten into a lot of trouble.

Without meaning to, Dean notes that he hasn’t seen Seth yet, but he assumes that’s just normal. His parents are probably trying to keep him as far away from Dean as possible. He doesn’t know if he’s mad about it or not. He shuts his locker before he can really think too much about it, after packing everything up into the small space. He pretends he doesn’t notice he’s still wearing his Batman hoodie, but, of course, he does and he just wants to see how many teachers know enough about him to realize he did it on purpose.

He takes the slowest route to his homeroom and sits down as the teacher whose name he doesn’t really care about takes attendance and then they’re sent off on their way again. Dean takes the long way to his English class and actually regrets it when he realizes that the only seat actually left when he gets there is in the front row, right in the middle.

Dean begrudgingly takes the seat and feels eyes burning into him. All the curious high school students wanting some form of gossip, no doubt. He’s not even bothering to pull out his notebook, just staring at his desk, slouched in his seat, being his general, cocky self. It’s only when there is someone standing in front of him that he looks up. He immediately wants to punch the guy in the face.

It has to be his teacher. Mr. Regal or whatever. John had him too, but Dean’s never seen him. The guy looks old and has this _permanently smug look on his face._ Dean doesn’t know why he just wants to knock his teeth in just to get the look off his face. They’re just staring at each other for a few moments, as if assessing the other, before Regal is walking away as the warning bell sounds and he’s going to close the door. Not a word was spoken, but suddenly, Dean feels like he has _everything_ to prove to this guy. Fuck. He’s going to actually have to _come to this class_ _just to prove he’s better than this fucking teacher_. Maybe it’s a tactic the Authority uses. Make their teachers smug bastards that make students want to prove them wrong.

“Dean Cena, I’m assuming,” comes a masculine voice to his side, as Dean continues to stare at Regal, who is retaining his eye contact perfectly. “You know, I really don’t think you should be looking at a teacher like that.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Dean states simply, watching the edges of Regal’s lips quirk up but stay _smirking_ and Dean is clenching his fists at his sides. “I don’t do anything people _think I should be doing_ , so why don’t you mind your own damn business?”

“Oh, so you’re one of those thug types,” comes the voice from his side, sounding amused and _smug_ and _fuck, is Dean surrounded by smug assholes in this damn school_? Dean tears his eyes away from Regal’s smug ass face to look at the smug ass male to his side. He has dark hair and a slight beard and a wave of self-righteousness is just rolling off of him. “Well, since I know your name, I might as well tell you _mine._ My name is Damien–“

“I really don’t give a fuck,” Dean deadpans, cutting _Damien_ off and staring at him hard for just a moment before the class bell goes off and the class is starting. It’s not exactly the best way to make friends, Dean supposes, but he wasn’t here to make friends.

They’re talking about some play or something, Dean doesn’t know and he really doesn’t care, but at the same time, he listens and ends up getting into an aggressive debate with Regal that goes from 10 minutes before class ends straight through the bell. If Dean wasn’t completely livid, he would have noticed how pleased Regal looked. All Dean sees is Regal holding up his hand and telling him he had better things to do than debate with a new student. Dean knows he probably seems like a child when he packs up his things loudly and stomps out of the classroom, but he doesn’t care. He was going to prove he was _better than Regal if it was the last thing he ever did in this damn school_.

The next class Dean has is Chemistry and he really is glad he gets there in a relatively good time, because the teacher is terrifying. His name is Mr. Schyster, but everyone is telling Dean as they come in that they all call him ‘IRS’. Well, Mr. IRS seats Dean next to this _smoking hot girl, hot damn._ Her skin is ebony and she’s beautiful and Dean tries _once_ to make a move, and is blown off, so there’s the end of that. Dean immediately decides to apologize – because he knows he can come off as an asshole sometimes and he realizes that this probably happens to the girl a lot – and she just smiles and asks if he’s Dean Cena. He confirms and he learns she’s Alicia Fox and he makes a comment about how she certainly is foxy without thinking. You can’t turn off your mind, he supposes. She just laughs. He makes a friend during that class, thankfully. He still doesn’t understand why Mr. IRS is teaching high school when it looks like he could squeeze Dean’s head off with his biceps.

The next class that Dean has is Geometry with Mr. Cole and it’s his last class before lunch, with three more after that before he’s finally free to break the rules again. Geometry is boring and Dean finds himself wondering halfway through how this Cole guy even survived high school. Seriously, you should see this _tool_. Along with hardly understanding how he survived high school in the first place, he didn’t know why he would ever _come back_. Dean was going to make his life a living hell, but he needed someone to make Cole’s life hell _with_. And he didn’t think it would be this weird kid beside him who was muttering under his breath about some kind of _cosmic key_ and was drawing constellations in his notes. Someone tell this freak he’s in math and not science, please. Dean was going crazy here.

As Geometry ends, Dean is shooting out of his desk and finding himself prying his mind for if he asked Roman if they shared the same lunch period. He makes a truly aggravated noise at himself when he realizes that, no, he hadn’t asked at all, and he was not going to be going to sit in the fucking lunch room potentially without someone to sit with. As he dumps all of his things into the locker, thinking over whether it would be worth his time to try and text Roman, he hears a strikingly familiar yet alien voice coming down the hallway.

The voice is cocky, arrogant, confident, and it’s like someone is calling Dean home, but at the same time, Dean feels like the voice is nothing he’s ever heard before. His body moves to turn in the direction of where the voice is coming from and when he sees who the voice belongs to, that knife is twisting deep in his gut and his heart lurches into his throat.

It’s his baby brother, now with half of his hair bleached blonde and he was in a big group of people, walking like he owned the hallways. He was smiling – more smirking, actually; did everyone in this fucking school _smirk_? – and he lets out a laugh that suddenly makes Dean feel like he’s found himself back home. Seth doesn’t even spare Dean a look, though; him and his group walking right by him, all of them turning up their noses ever so slightly. Dean deserves that, he feels, but it still doesn’t make the longing to just hold Seth in his arms like the boy had done when Dean had his breakdown so many years ago go away.

Dean is left staring after him, trying to force himself to look away, but failing. He realizes belatedly that they’re all going towards the lunch room and he wonders for a moment if Seth’s _mommy and daddy_ noticed that they put them in the same lunch period, or if they did it on purpose to torment Dean by letting him know that Seth didn’t need him. He’s still staring after where Seth had walked away, his locker still open, when he feels someone smack him on the back of the head and his chin falls to touch his chest for a moment, but the gesture is familiar.

“Stop sulking and let’s go eat, I’m starving,” Roman is telling him, wrapping an arm around him and pushing the locker shut, putting his lock back on. Roman always knew how to handle Dean when he got into these _moods_ that he often found himself in.

When Dean had found himself having his last breakdown three months ago, Roman had been there. It hadn’t been like the rest of the breakdowns. Dean wasn’t aggressive towards his surroundings, but he was aggressive towards Roman. He had tried his best to get one-up on the other, more muscular male. It hadn’t ended very well for Dean, who ended up pinned to the ground and struggling for a good thirty minutes before all the fight had drained out of him and Roman had pulled him up and into his arms. It was the last time Dean had kissed Roman. The kisses never meant anything. It was just something that Dean did, really; a way of showing his _thanks_ , more than anything. Roman didn’t mention it after it happened, ever, and Dean didn’t try to bring it up. It was just _something Dean did_.

Roman leads them to the cafeteria and then removes his arm from around Dean as he moves towards the line, expecting Dean to follow. Dean does and he just gets something random – which happens to be some kind of sandwich – and a water with a cookie. He doesn’t know if he can eat without worrying about the food going through that wound in his stomach where that knife is still twisting, but he would certainly try.

His eyes find Seth without him realizing and their eyes connect for just a _split second_ , blue on brown. Dean feels that knife dig deeper as he watches brown eyes snap away again and that’s that. Dean’s made it his mission to get under Seth’s skin just like the other was under his.

Roman leads Dean to a table after they buy their lunches and there are already people there making space for them and some of them look vaguely familiar. Dean notices that’s probably because some of them are football players and they’ve all come to Dean’s house after games before. He sits down and no one really makes an attempt at talking to him until Roman introduces him to everyone as ‘Dean Cena’ and then they’re talking to him like old friends. Fucking suck ups. He keeps up with the conversation just enough before he zones out, his eyes zoning in on Seth.

There was something about the way he held himself now. Something about the way he smirked instead of smiled and a certain look in his eye that made Dean think it was all an act. No high school student could be that _fucking smug_ , could they? It was like everyone in this school thought they were better than everyone else and he wanted to run his head through a wall. Or, his fist into someone’s face.

“I want to punch him in his fucking face,” Dean mutters under his breath, but it catches Roman’s attention, who follows his line of sight and is just shaking his head.

“You might want to, but I don’t think that’s too good of an idea,” Roman tells him and Dean’s lips are curling back some into a snarl, taking a bite of his sandwich finally before immediately spitting it out.

“God damn it. This school is expensive as _fuck_ and they feed you this shit?” He’s immediately complaining, opening his bottle in aggravation, hardly noticing how agitated he was getting until he’s halfway through the bottle and shoving it away as well, Roman’s hand pushing into his hair. “ _Fuck_ , I need a smoke.”

“Smoking isn’t allowed on school grounds,” someone chips in from somewhere at the table and it sounds like just the challenge that Dean needs right now. “If you get caught, they’ll expel you on the spot. Happened to someone already this year.”

“Any of you going to rat out John Cena’s baby brother?” Dean asks, already tapping at the pack that was in his hoodie pocket – and he faintly realizes that no one has told him to take it off yet. There’s silence all around him and Roman’s hand is sliding from his hair with a sigh. “I’m sure you’ve all heard the stories about me and what I can do when I get a little too stressed out. And if you haven’t, let Ro here explain everything while I go have a smoke.”

Dean is getting up, kissing Roman on the head as he does, grinning sharply, his nerves still drawn tight. The craving for the nicotine is deepening now that he’s thought about it and he’s headed out of the cafeteria, towards where he knew there was a set of bathrooms. Let’s see just how fast they could react to cigarette smoke.

He finds himself in the bathroom, near the door for a quick escape and as far away from the cigarette smoke detector as possible. His foot was just in the door of the restroom and he lights the cigarettes and quickly takes a long, hard drag. He holds it, letting the effects take him over, before breathing through his nose, then is dropping the cigarette and putting it out and making a break for it, just like that.

He manages to get just around the corner before two security officers – guys shorter than him, what the fuck? – are coming around the corner, obviously wanting to catch him in the act, but look _defeated_ when all they found was the cigarette.

“Leave it there for Hunter and Steph to see,” the shorter of the two says, Dean ducking behind the corner as he looks around. “It’s probably that new Dean kid playing mind games with us. I hear he’s pretty unstable. I don’t think I wanna get on his bad side. Kid’s tall.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” the taller of the two murmur and there are the sound of two pairs of footsteps walking away back the way they came and Dean is dashing to get the cigarette from the floor. He manages to get it and was going to dispose of it in a random trash can, but as he turns the corner towards the cafeteria – while clutching the warm cigarette in his fist and putting it in his hoodie pocket – he nearly runs into none other than Seth Helmsley-McMahon.

He watches as Seth stares at him – a few inches shorter than Dean, but they’re nearly the same height with Dean’s posture – and he stares back all the while. Then, he watches as Seth’s nose wrinkles in distaste and Dean realizes he probably smells his cigarette. He gives a lop-sided grin and leans in a bit closer.

“Don’t tell on me, Sethie. My nerves are just through the roof. Just needed to calm down a little bit,” he whispers into his former brother’s ear, pressing just the lightest kiss against Seth’s cheek, before he’s walking around him and beginning to head back towards the cafeteria again.

“You’re going to fuck yourself over if you don’t start following the rules, Dean,” Seth’s voice follows him, his voice loud in the silent hallway and Dean pauses, bobbing his head along to the music in his head, before he’s shrugging nonchalantly and looking over his shoulder with an easy smirk. _Smirking._ He could do smirking. He could play this game too, Seth.

“What’s life without taking a few risks? Not a life I wanna live, that’s for sure,” Dean murmurs back. They just look at each other for another few moments before Dean’s bringing his hand to his chest, tapping his fingers against his chest in a bit of agitation, but it was… lighter now, really. Not quite as bad. The nicotine still in his system. “See you later, Princess.”

And with that, he’s looking forward again. Seth doesn’t reply, but Dean didn’t expect him to. He thinks it’s for the better. Seth didn’t need to know how much Dean missed him when it was like the two-tone-haired boy hadn’t missed him at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what to do to keep this young heart thumping. Comments and Kudos are a way to my heart. And if you want to give suggestions on what you think should happen in this story, that is also allowed. c:
> 
> For potential and hilarious scenes that might show up in this work, you should follow me on tumblr, because I talk about this alternate universe way too much for it to be healthy.
> 
> http://stuckwithashield.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth’s jaw is working, his lips twitching and nostrils flaring some, looking like he was fighting back a comment and looking for an adequate one to spout at the same time. Dean finds it even more oddly adorable than his blush and just gives a smug wave when Seth looks his way, motioning to the empty seat to his left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's another chapter! Honestly, I don't know if I like the beginning or the end, and I'm not sure how I want this story to go. I want it to be so much more than just an Ambrollins story. I want it to be seeing Dean getting through his rough patches. I want so much for this to be a story about how Dean Ambrose ends up happy. It's probably going to be slow build-up for Dean and Seth, just warning.

There was something about heading back to the cafeteria after the confrontation with Seth that made Dean feel… empowered. He looks forward the entire time as he walks and doesn’t risk getting his heart shattered by looking back. They had spoken with each other. It had been almost _natural_ in Dean’s opinion. It was like Seth had been _warning him_ to start following the rules. Not in a way of malice either, more in a way of… _literal warning_. Trying to guide someone back onto the right path so they would make the right decision. Maybe he actually still cared somewhere deep inside of that arrogant little persona he wears. Maybe he’s happy to actually have Dean in the same school as him, but that would have to be a little secret, wouldn’t it? Mommy and Daddy couldn’t know that little Sethie was happy to have his former brother back in the same general area – but he wasn’t back. They had one short conversation that was filled with Seth seemingly talking down on Dean the entire time. They weren’t exactly back on good terms immediately. He didn’t expect them to be back on good terms for a long time.

He gets back to the cafeteria and he thinks about just disposing of the cigarette in the trash, but it would look suspicious to be caught just randomly throwing something away after he got back from the bathroom, so he decides to just go back to where Roman is sitting with his friends – and apparently where Roman is eating half of the cookie that Dean had bought. Dean is sure he looks incredibly offended, but Roman just smiles around a mouthful of cookie and offers the other half to Dean, who snatches it away with a huff. Everyone is looking at Dean in astonishment as he sits down again and he realizes it’s probably because he managed to smoke and not get caught. They must think of him as some form of rebellious god now. That’s _great_. So, he grins at all of them and takes a bite of his cookie, leaning heavily against his brother all the while. No one asks him how he did it, no one talks about it. They’re all seemingly well trained in the art of making sure no one gets caught. It’s good to know, but Dean’s eyes are trained on the door, waiting to see if Seth comes back with his parents who would no doubt take Dean away for his rebellion.

Seth doesn’t return until the last minute of lunch, however, and there’s no one in tow. He keeps his gaze pointedly away from anywhere near Dean and then there’s an announcement telling students that there was a smoking incident and they would like to speak with anyone who had any information. No one even looks guilty at the table as they pack up and move away to prepare for their next class periods. Dean feels that he’s found himself into the proper crowd. He puts his cigarette into Roman’s chip bag and Roman helps him dispose of it without a single complaint. It’s as Dean goes to leave that Roman stops him and offers him a piece of gum that Dean takes without question. You only didn’t get caught by taking the proper precautions, after all. Roman was always there helping Dean make sure he kept out of the trouble that he could possibly find himself in. Really, they were two of a kind, almost the same. They kept each other on the good sides of the Authority because they both craved power, despite the fact that they both caused trouble. _Vamoose_ would never knew what hit it if Dean and Roman decided to stir up some real trouble.

“You take care of yourself,” Roman is telling Dean, his look stern, but Dean just waves off the other’s worries and smacks a loud kiss onto his temple. Roman isn’t amused, not in the least. Damn, what crawled up his ass and died? “I mean it. Don’t think I don’t know you were talking to _him_ out there. Saw him leave. I’m not an idiot.” Ah, so that’s the problem. A true problem in itself, sure, especially considering what Dean had been more-or-less caught doing. It makes Dean feel… angered, in a way. Perhaps agitated is a better word choice. To know and comprehend that it wasn’t just Dean’s little secret anymore made his skin itch and his nerves pull at his sanity, but he didn’t have _secrets_ with Roman. Roman knew everything about Dean just like Dean knew everything about Roman. They were _friends_. They were _brothers_. Not to mention Roman was two steps ahead of Dean generally all the time. He knew what Dean was going to be thinking way before even Dean knew. They were tuned to the beat of each other’s drums. They were the ones that kept each other in place. And despite Dean’s nerves, in the end, without saying a word, Dean just nods. There was no need to say anything when he’s sure Roman already knew. So, when he heads off without so much as a goodbye, Roman doesn’t try to stop or follow him. Dean didn’t operate like other people and Roman knew that. It’s why Dean kept him around, after all.

Dean’s next class is American History, which just in itself sounds _so_ exciting, doesn’t it? His only hope is that maybe it would be a class he could sleep in, but he had a feeling that he would never be that lucky. He certainly felt that he could be needing a nap right about now, though. He felt drained. However, he needs to pick himself up and just get him through this day. So, he packs his books for his last three classes and heads off to find his American History classroom. Along the way, he thinks about how he might be able to get Seth’s attention and keep it at some point in the future, because it really was important to Dean just to see if he could maybe have his baby brother back. After his mom never came back and never called or anything, after Seth was taken from him, he felt like he was being slowly abandoned by everyone but Roman, who was the only thing that kept Dean’s head screwed on straight most days. The Cena family were a good family to be involved in, but at the same time, Dean didn’t feel like he was a part of the family half the time.

As Dean enters American History, he immediately realizes that this wasn’t going to be a class he would be able to sleep in, if only for the fact that the teacher – Mr. Colter – had a _fucking amazing mustache._ Seriously, it was a mustache that would make other mustaches weep in its presence. It was majestic. It was perfection. Is that thing even in dress code? It can’t be, there was no way. Not at a school like _Vamoose_. Therefore, Dean pledged to himself immediately that he would forever respect Mr. Colter’s mustache and would bow down to the elder rebel. Mr. Colter didn’t seem to care though, before he just looks pointedly at Dean and tells him to take a seat.

“Yes sir!” Dean is saying easily, tearing his attention away from that almighty mustache – seriously, could Dean grow one of those? He needed to try and grow one of those – to look at the seat selections. There were only a few left, so he picks a random one that has one seat open to the side and settles in. As the rest of the students start piling in – everyone sitting somewhere that isn’t next to him. How fucking rude. He’s a human, he has _emotions_ – Dean just settles further into his seat, legs sprawled out comfortably, slumped in his chair. He was the perfect picture of a slacker. He was fully ready to just relax through this class – it was American History, after all. What good would it do him in the future? – when Seth Rollins is walking into the classroom and stopping to look at the seat selections. Dean stares at him, almost like a deer caught in headlights. Seth is staring right back at him with an expression that was similar. Mr. Colter is quick to break it all up, though. Thank you, Mr. Fabulous Mustache.

“Take a seat next to the boy I am assuming is the one we’ve all been warned about,” is what Mr. Colter huffs out at Seth when he stares for too long. “The one slumped in his seat like he ain’t got a damn back bone. Sit up and take your hoodie off, Mr. Dean Cena.”

Dean is immediately sitting up straighter. “Yes sir, but only if you give me tips on how to grow a mustache like yours,” Dean attempts to bribe with a cheeky smile that gets him an ‘I don’t have time for your bullshit right now’ look and no answer. He decides not to push his luck and is beginning to take off his hoodie when he realizes Seth hasn’t moved yet. Was the Authority’s little baby a revel himself? Or was this just his asshole-side showing?

“I really don’t think it’s the best idea for me to be sitting next to him. I have it under strict orders that I should not be anywhere near him at any point,” Seth is deadpanning to Mr. Colter, making Dean realize that yeah, it’s probably just his asshole-side showing. Nonetheless, Dean hides his pleased smirk as he pulls his hoodie over his head. “If you actually read any of the emails that were sent to you, maybe you would know that.”

“Mr. Helmsley-McMahon, this is the first time during the entire time that I’ve known you – which is for a long while, we both know that’s for damn sure – that you have decided to give me lip. If I didn’t know any better, I would say you might be trying to draw a bit of attention to yourself from _someone new_ ,” Mr. Colter deadpans and Dean feels his smirk turn into cocky smile. Seth presses his own lips into a thin line, a blush forming across the high of his cheeks and spreading to the entirety of his face. He’s utterly adorable. Dean wants him all to himself. “If your parents have some form of problem with how I am teaching my class and arranging my students, then they can come talk to me about it. Until then, you’re going to do what I say and I said go sit down.”

Seth’s jaw is working, his lips twitching and nostrils flaring some, looking like he was fighting back a comment and looking for an adequate one to spout at the same time. Dean finds it even more oddly adorable than his blush and just gives a smug wave when Seth looks his way, motioning to the empty seat to his left. “Yes sir,” Seth finally grounds out after his suppressed temper tantrum was pushed to the past. Then, he’s making his way to the chair to Dean’s side and sitting down without a comment further. He doesn’t even look at Dean, but Dean doesn’t mind, he’s still grinning from ear-to-ear. This felt like a victory in itself. He really liked this Colter guy.

The bell rings and Mr. Colter starts class, very no-bullshit but the mustache softens the blow of everything. Dean doesn’t take notes, just sitting there, ending up slumped in his seat just like he had been before. Mr. Colter doesn’t call him out on it, but he does end up giving him an exasperated shake of the head. About halfway through, Mr. Colter seems to get tired of talking and just gives them a reading assignment and a paper to do. Before all of the papers are passed out, Mr. Colter is throwing out a comment about being able to work in partners or groups as long as they were quiet. The room goes into motion immediately, but Dean is too busy opening up his textbook to the right page and looking over the assignment to actually care. To his side, Seth doesn’t move either. He’s still projecting pissed-off vibes. Is it bad that Dean wants to laugh at him? It’s probably bad that Dean wants to laugh at him.

A glance to Seth reveals that he’s glaring at his textbook with the heat of a thousand suns and it just makes it a thousand times better than it had originally been. Dean grins to himself without really meaning to, straightening out his paper and tapping his pen on the desktop. “Careful there, Princess. You might catch your textbook on fire with that heated glare of yours,” Dean is murmuring, smirking as he skims over the reading they’re supposed to be doing, just looking for the answers. Like he said before, this wasn’t anything that he would ever be needing in the future anyway.

“Do I look like a god damn _princess_ to you?” Seth huffs out. He should really know that wasn’t a very safe question to be asking Dean, but before the mentally-unstable boy could answer, Seth is speaking again. With a heavy sigh, he mutters, “Don’t answer that.” Dean is still grinning, finding that he was unable to stop, writing down one of the answers that he finds. He feels Seth shift in his seat more than he actually sees him, his body in tune for the other’s movements now. It happened sometimes. Dean liked being able to know what was going on without having to look. “Not even supposed to be talking to you. You’re a nut job.”

It’s something that Dean’s heard a thousand times before, honestly, but it always hurt a lot more when it came from someone he trusted, or rather, _still_ trusted in Seth’s case. He’s heard it as a joke from over a dozen people. He’s heard it as a praise from over a dozen people. He’s heard it just said as _fact_ from a dozen people. In no situation is Dean trying to kid himself into thinking he’s not a nut job, but it still _hurt_ to have it pointed out. It hurts a little less every day though. Soon, it wouldn’t hurt at all. “Is that a conclusion you came to on all your own, Princess, or is that a thought your mommy and daddy put into your head for you?”

The words draw a sneer from Seth, Dean sees it out of the corner of his eye. It’s something that struck a cord and the only thing that Dean can even think is _good_. _Good_ that Dean found something that he could use against this prick like he had something that he could use against Dean. Two of them could easily play this damn game if that’s really how Seth wanted to play. Part of Dean hoped that this is the game they were going to play, but another part wished they could just skip this alpha-male, family rivalry and get to the part where Dean could hug him again, hold him again, and never let him go. Because they were _going to get there._ One day. _One day_. If it was the last thing that Dean did, he would get Seth back. He would have his family complete again.

“You don’t know a damn thing about what my family has been telling me, Cena,” Seth is hissing out and Dean doesn’t react at all to the tone. In fact, he makes it like he didn’t even hear a thing Seth has said and it just seems to make Seth angrier. “You can act like you’re all high and mighty ‘cause you’ve got John Cena for a brother and you smoke and you’ve still got Ro, but all you’re ever going to do is drag people down. You’re not going anywhere. You probably won’t even graduate high school. Dragging people down and making their life hell is all you’ve ever done. It always had to be about you. Everything. You could never be happy that Ro and I were happy. It was _always about you._ ” The tone Seth is using is bitter and Dean doesn’t know whether to think it’s more lies planted or if that’s what really happened. Were those memories toyed with or were those the real things? Either way it’s just another knife into Dean’s back, but he supposes he’d just have to get used to those.

“If you’re afraid of me causing you so much trouble, why are you even bothering to talk to me right now? I’m not twisting your arm and forcing you into this conversation. You’re doing it to yourself,” his voice is venomous without his approval. He hates that he let that happen. He hates that he let the bastard know that he got under his skin. Honestly, just a mention of Dean being toxic would have the short-haired male ready to rip someone’s throat out. He knows he’s a bad choice. _He knows he’s a bad choice._ But he doesn’t want people making decisions for him, so he just lets people realize their own mistakes. Ro was still around by choice. At least Dean hoped he was.

Doubt creeps into Dean’s mind though and he finds himself zoning out immediately as doubt is met with _fear_. What if Ro was only staying to keep Dean in his right mind? What if he feared leaving meant Dean wouldn’t be safe? What if he didn’t want to deal with Dean anymore but he did because he’s afraid of what might happen if he didn’t? Dean finds his headache from the morning coming back and he finds himself slipping away drastically from reality as his own worries begin to pull him in. He’s squeezing his pen in one hand and bringing the other hand to his forehead in the shape of a fist. He’s knocking against his own head for a moment, trying to bring himself back _because he can’t let this happen on the first day_. _He can’t let the fucking authority members and fucking Seth be right_. _He’s more than a nut job. He can work through this_.

He doesn’t realize just how far gone he really is before he feels a pair of hands prying the pen from his hands and after another moment he feels hands on the fist that was knocking against his forehead. His eyes are clenched shut, but the hands are gone after a moment and a strong hand slaps him across the face. He snaps back to himself faster than he thought would have been possible. Standing in front of his desk is Mr. Colter with a grim expression on his face. Dean’s cheek stings, but he feels like he’s looking at Mr. Colter like he was a god right now.

“You back down to Earth, Mr. Cena?” Mr. Colter asks gruffly, grabbing Dean by the jaw some. Dean thinks idly about how Mr. Colter really doesn’t seem to give a shit about whether he gets fired or not. It just makes Dean respect him that much more. Dean nods jerkily, but he’s still trembling ever so slightly. His mind is reeling, his eyes can’t focus, he feels so tense and on edge. “What do you need to get through this? Water? A snack? You gotta help me here, kid. I ain’t trained in this.”

“I really need a smoke,” is what Dean says without thinking, his fingers flexing again, moving to his chest, tugging at his collar. The room is filled with gazes that were on him. It felt a hundred degrees hotter than it should. Mr. Colter looks at him with a pitying expression, still holding his jaw, which is working in agitation. “Can I be excused?”

It’s a heavy moment of silence in the classroom before Mr. Colter is releasing his jaw. “I’m going to right you a note. Go to the nurse. I expect you back in my class tomorrow with that worksheet done, Mr. Cena.” His attitude is a take-no-shit attitude, but he seems to take pity on Dean. Dean doesn’t know if he appreciates it or not, but his mind sure as hell does.

“Yes sir. I’ll have this paper turned into you by the end of the day, sir,” Dean is rambling, not even looking over to where he can _feel_ Seth fidgeting to his left as he packs his things up and stands, heading to Mr. Colter’s desk after the teacher. “And a formal request to know how I can grow a mustache like yours, of course.”

“Get to the nurse, Mr. Cena,” Mr. Colter is saying dully, but Dean thinks he might see a sliver of a smile under all that facial hair, so he counts it as a win, even with his head still spinning. He leaves without another comment.

Dean ends up getting to the nurse’s office in record time, but all he does is sit there and suck on peppermints that he’s given. The taste is enough to focus on to bring him back to himself though, for the most part. A positive is he was told to put his hoodie back on when his trembling hadn’t stopped fifteen minutes in. Then, the bell was ringing for classes to be let out and he’s leaving to go to his next class without a word.

His next class happens to be Home Ec – which is fucking ridiculous, honestly – and it’s much less uneventful than Social Studies, but he’s once again coming face to face with a teacher that he doesn’t understand how they survived. His name is Mr. Striker and he is a total pretty boy. His ties are just offensive, really. Much like Mr. Cole, Dean doesn’t know how he survived high school and more importantly, he didn’t understand why he came back to teach _Home Ec_ of all things. Dean didn’t seem to be the only one in the class who wasn’t enjoying his time though, and he ends up making friends with a boy named Zack Ryder. They end up making paper birdies and shooting them at Mr. Striker while he’s trying to teach them all how to make a hem or something. Dean doesn’t know, he really doesn’t care. It’s fun more than anything. Dean’s glad to have fun after that stressful near-breakdown.

The last class of the day is Spanish II and Dean goes in confident but he doesn’t stay that way long. As he sits down, he is immediately targeted by the teacher, Mrs. Guerrero. She demands he sit up straight and take off his hoodie, demands that he listen and introduce himself in simple Spanish. He doesn’t like her very much with all of this bossing him around stuff, but he does his best to keep her happy, which isn’t particularly easy. She ends up yelling at him, telling him to just sit down, and that’s the best thing she could have told him to do. It’s as he gets into the class that he begins to wonder how he even made it here. Did he even pass Spanish I? Did he even _take_ Spanish I? He wasn’t sure. Maybe it was one of the classes he skipped the previous year. Not to mention there is a dude sitting next to him who is extremely tall and had thick facial hair who looked like he hadn’t seen socialization in a while if the look in his eye was anything to go by. Mrs. Guerrero called him Luke or something.

Luke pays about as much attention to Mrs. Guerrero as Dean does – which isn’t much – and Dean seriously wonders if he even knows how to speak English, let alone Spanish. Could he speak at all? At one point, his head snaps over to look at Dean, who is staring at him, and they just kind of stare at each other for a moment before they’re looking back at the board again. Dean doesn’t know how he feels about it. He just hopes the guy never tries to talk to him.

As soon as the last bell rings, Dean heads back to his homeroom, where the afternoon announcements are made, and they’re released again. For general first days, this one really wasn’t too bad. Dean didn’t really make any enemies and the one breakdown he almost had didn’t go as bad as it could have, considering. He hadn’t managed to finish his American History paper though, so he supposed that was one thing that he ended up lying about; saying he would have it back to Colter by the end of the day. Oh well, he’d just have to apologize for that tomorrow. It’s not that important anyway. He didn’t want to be setting any expectations with these fucking teachers anyway.

He’s at his locker and packing away his things when he’s suddenly being pushed away from his locker and it’s being slammed shut. His blood is immediately flowing and in the back of his head, there’s a comment that says _this is exactly what I need_ _to get my head back in the game._ He’s turning, ready to take whatever blow is thrown his way or throw a punch if he needs to, but he stops short. In front of him, seething and nearly foaming at the mouth, was Randy Helmsley-McMahon. Dean could only imagine what the other wanted him dead for, if that look in his eyes was anything to go by.

“Just had to go out of your mind while you were in class with my brother, didn’t you?” Randy is immediately hissing out at him, his fists clenching, pushing Dean again, against the lockers, and Dean isn’t sure how he wants to react just yet. He could land one on the guy, but then he would give the Authority a reason to get rid of him and that’s not exactly something he wanted to do. “John always spouted so much bullshit about how _you just wanted him to be safe and happy_ , how you _hoped he was okay_ , but then you go and just have to put him in danger all over again, didn’t you? Had to prove just how much of a fuck up you really are, didn’t you?”

It’s more knives being thrown at him, but Dean had gotten so used to having to defend himself in situations like this that he really just takes it all in stride, giving a sharp smile and placing his hands just on Randy’s chest, giving a sharp push. “Fuck-up just so happens to be my middle name. I didn’t know if you knew that or not. My mom wasn’t too good with middle names, but she thought it would be fitting. It’s part of who I am, it’s a part of me that I _embrace_ because that just so happens to be a part of me that I deserve to be proud of. Much like the fact that _failure_ could easily be your middle name, right? I mean, you’re co-captains with my brother in football. Your parents own the goddamn school and they made you co-captains with John Cena because they knew that you couldn’t do it on your own. Doesn’t that _bother you?_ Doesn’t it bother you to be a failure and have it all rubbed in your face? Even though you’ve probably thought it before, believed it before?” Dean is taunting, pushing Randy again, a crowd gathering around them. “Doesn’t it bother you that I know for a fact that you’re just coming here to me to be a good older brother, but mommy and daddy didn’t send you? Because you wouldn’t be able to get the job done, Randy. You would always fall one step short.”

“You’re treading on some thin ice right now, Cena,” Randy is hissing at him, shoving him back once more with more strength than he had before and Dean can feel his own heart start to beat harder in anticipation. They couldn’t expel him for self-defense. He’s take them to court and sue their asses. “You need to stay the fuck away from _my_ brother. You need to learn to accept that you’re the worst choice for him. You’re just going to drag him down if he gets involved with you. He actually has a bright enough future while you’re going to end up dead on the side of the road somewhere.”

“Only way I’m going to end up dead on the side of the road somewhere is if someone puts me there,” Dean is saying simply before getting back to his taunting. “But you’re talking a lot about Seth and his bright future, but I honestly don’t think that _you_ have a future at all. _Failing_ and all only gets you so far. Even mommy and daddy wouldn’t be able to get you out of the shithole that you drive yourself into. You… What? Have probably the same amount of anger problems as me. You’re dangerous too, but no one calls you out on it because you have a mommy and a daddy to save you. Trust me, Randy, I’ve heard all the stories,” the words drip out like poison and a feral smile crosses his lips, challenging, and Randy’s fists are beginning to curl, muscles straining, jaw locking. “You know, it gets out to everyone when you have a brother who is the _co-captain_ of the football team. He knows a lot about everything that happens and I swear, sometimes, I hear him make comments about you that no one has ever made about–“ He doesn’t know what sets Randy off, he really doesn’t, but suddenly, there’s a fist colliding with his face. He feels his lip split and suddenly, there’s a huge amount of yelling and people are already holding Dean back. “Oh, you’re going to regret that, you son of a bitch!” Dean is suddenly shouting, spitting the taste of copper out of his mouth towards where quite a few people are holding Randy back as well.

Running from around the corner are the Authority, with Seth in tow, and they all look between Randy and Dean like they have absolutely no idea what’s going on and it makes Dean want to laugh, but his lip hurts. He feels like he’s falling apart all over again and he’s beginning to tremble with the need to get out and _destroy_.

“You’re going to regret ever hearing the name Dean Cena, Randal! You’re going to _pay for what you’ve done._ You’re going to _pay for what you did._ _You’re going to pay for the things you have yet to do. You just cursed your entire family, Randal. Prepare for hell!”_ Dean is shouting, barely comprehending the look of slight terror on Seth’s face before Roman is filling Dean’s vision and he’s sagging in the arms of whoever’s holding him back, because he knows that if Roman is there, everything was okay.

_Everything was going to be okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO. I FEEL BAD. I didn't want to make Randy a total asshole, but let's face it: Randy can be a total asshole. He's really just trying to protect his little brother in this instance, but in doing so, he's a total asshole. 
> 
> ALSO, JUST FOR WARNING (SPOILER ALERT), THERE WILL BE FUTURE BACKGROUND CENTON. THAT'S BASICALLY WHY DEAN GOT PUNCHED IN THE FACE.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the morning passes by quickly. Dean doesn’t see Seth when he’s stopped at his locker before lunch, where usually the sight of two-toned hair graces his vision as he passes through with his group, and Dean’s kind of… put down by the fact, like maybe Seth was starting to finally avoid him now that he knew Dean was better. But that was okay. Seth had every right to try and avoid Dean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowza, this is being posted like 7 hours later than usual because I had no motivation for this chapter. I am so sorry. I hope you enjoy it, though! I hope I did okay!

The blood was still drooling down Dean’s chin from his lip and it was getting all on Roman’s shirt and Dean’s hoodie. It was a nuisance, the throbbing, but it kept the world from falling into a daze. Somehow, he and Roman ended up on the floor, Dean leaned heavily against him, mouth pressed into Roman’s shirt, his eyes looking just over Roman’s shoulder. Roman was muttering under his breath about how he would make Randy pay for this in practice. Dean didn’t say anything to it, his mind spinning rapidly as it always does to try and drag him under the current. It had been a stress-filled day, that was for sure, and the punch had just been the cherry on top. His mind was going to need some time to mend itself. The days would once more begin to blur together very soon. It’s something he’s used to now that he didn’t just explode or lose himself to his mind every time he needed to calm down. You had to make trades for your sanity, and that was his compromise with himself. _I don’t end up hurting anyone and I don’t end up hurting myself if I can give you time out of my life where I don’t even feel alive_. It doesn’t seem fair, but it is.

Over Roman’s shoulder, Dean can see where John is yanking Randy to the side while the Authority is ushering people out of the school doors, trying to keep the scene under wraps. Seth is still looking at him, a slightly horrified look on his face like he wasn’t exactly sure what to make of the broken teen that was in the arms of their former mutual brother. Dean can hardly stand to look at him, to see that look on his face and know that _he_ had been the one to put it there. His eyes go back to where Randy and John are to spare himself the pain. Randy and John were supposed to be some form of friends, that much Dean knew. They were co-captains on the football team, after all, and the team played beautifully from what Dean saw. John had his hand on Randy’s shoulder now, where he had it pressed against the wall. Randy is wound tight, but there’s a look in his eyes that held no malice, just pain. They’re talking softly, leaning in closer to whisper, Randy nodding in Dean’s direction once before he’s jutting out his chin and pushing John away slowly, no force behind it.

Dean averts his eyes again when he feels sees Stephanie sending Seth away to go get something, motioning to Dean. He assumes they’re going to get something for his lip, which is still dripping bleed onto Roman’s shirt. He feels bad about it, going as far as to attempt to pull away, but Roman is putting a hand on the back of his head and he just leans forward again. He realizes, belatedly, that he’s trembling some. He must seem pathetic. He must seem like the broken kid that he really is, only 15 years old acting like he was strong enough to take on the world as it presented itself. He was, too, damn it. This rich boy lifestyle had never taken the knowledge that in the real world, you had to fight tooth and nail to get what you want. He knew he wasn’t going anywhere, though. He knew he would never amount to what everyone else in this damn school would be. And for some reason, he was oddly okay with that. He had accepted that as far back as when he was five years old standing over the sink and washing dishes because no one else in the house would.

He was lulling off on Roman’s shoulder to his own negative thoughts and he doesn’t even realize when Seth is approaching with an ice bag wrapped in paper towels for his lip. Roman ends up being the one to take it, nudging Dean back to life and pulling back enough so they were face to face. Roman had a look of concern on his face, but Dean is waving it off and taking the ice bag, putting it to his lip. Roman was kind enough not to mention anything and just helps Dean to his feet, pressing a kiss to his head like Dean had done to him so many times in the past. It felt grounding in a way and they’re being led to the principal’s office now. He didn’t speak, but with Roman on one side of him, Dean feels his other side being occupied by John. It doesn’t take Dean much time before he’s leaning heavily on John instead of Roman, just to give him a taste of the responsibilities that Roman had. John took it in stride, patting Dean on the back as he accepts the weight with ease.

When they’re all in the principal office, Dean being sat down in one chair and Randy in the other, Dean’s head lulls back some to look at John and Roman, ice bag still on his lip, which was numb from the cold of the ice. He remembers, idly, making some comment about ‘how this was going to fall back on him, right?’ Because he didn’t care about the Authority being right there and able to listen. He was going to call them out on their bullshit before they could ever start. John just shrugs, giving the Authority a look that held just the smallest amount of venom in it, telling Dean ‘he didn’t know.’ Yes he does. This was going to be the thing that got Dean out of their hair, out of their school. They could go back to protecting their precious little baby boy with Dean out of the picture. He was… _okay_ with that, actually. He was dangerous, remember? If he really wanted to keep Seth safe, he would stay as far away from him as possible, isn’t that what the Authority wanted? Maybe they knew what was best after all.

The doubt he was putting in his own head has him trembling again, pulling back the ice bag and tugging and pushing at his lip to get it to start throbbing again to remind him of the physical pain. His lip that had been ceasing its bleeding was now fully bleeding again. Roman had to pry Dean’s fingers away from his lip when the proclaimed lunatic didn’t hear him telling him to stop and forcefully shoves the ice bag back his lip, bringing Dean back for the time being. John is running his fingers through Dean’s hair to try and provide some comfort, but Dean is waving his bloody hand – that Roman had been trying to wipe off – at John to get him away. When _Madre_ and _Padre_ come barging into the room, Dean is actually happy about it more than anything. And thus, the meeting of the parents with the principal progresses. Dean is pulled out of his impending daze long enough to give the story – in which he tells it all and doesn’t try to lie about anything, because he knew it would end up biting him in the ass if he tried. Randy tells the same story begrudgingly.

When it comes to conversation of punishment, there was talk about taking Randy off the football team for the next few games or flat out suspending him or even just detention for the next few weeks. Dean doesn’t know where he finds it in himself, but he’s telling them not to worry about it; that he deserved it (because he did. For something, he deserved it for something). Everyone looks at him in a bit of shock, including Seth, who looks like he might actually _defend_ Dean for just a split second before his jaw sets again and he’s just staring hard at him. Dean averts his gaze again. He feels like he’s just going to keep going downhill from here. _Madre_ and _Padre_ are demanding to know more about the story and the more talking that goes on, the more Dean is beginning to get agitated as he tries to keep up with a sluggish mind. He’s entirely too thankful to Roman, who is pushing earbuds into his ear and playing white noise to drown everything out. Roman always came prepared to deal with these moods that Dean found himself in. He was lucky to have such a good big brother. John was alright too, of course.

It was when he feels Roman beginning to tense behind him and _Madre_ and _Padre_ are shouting some over the sound of the white noise that Dean excuses himself without saying a word. He just walks out, with Roman’s iPhone in hand and the earbuds still in. He ends up walking home with it, but Roman would end up coming over afterwards anyway, just like always. At home, in his room, nearly deafening himself with the white noise when his thoughts spin too loud, he’s startled out of his daze by the sound of a text message that Roman was getting. Dean, out of pure curiosity, looked at it to find it was Seth, texting Roman and asking him if Dean was okay. Guess Princess didn’t realize Dean had Roman’s phone. It didn’t process fully in Dean’s mind at the time, though, the fact that Seth was texting Roman and asking about him. This meant two things: Seth cared and Roman and Seth had been in touch previously. Or had at least swapped numbers. Dean didn’t try to reply to the message. His mind didn’t care and his heart was aching. When Roman got there, Dean hands him his phone back without comment. When the Samoan-Italian sees the text, he side-eyes Dean for just a few moments before replying to it. Dean doesn’t ask what he said because he didn’t want to know what Roman told their little brother. He didn’t want to know if he lied to him or told him the truth. He didn’t want to know Roman’s truth. All Dean knew was he sure as hell didn’t feel okay.

The next month passes by in a true daze. Roman ended up staying the night at Dean’s house the night he got punched in the face, and then took Dean back to his house about every day after. _Madre_ and _Padre_ allowed it in hopes that it would get Dean out of his funk sooner. Dean had always felt a lot more at home in the Reigns household. However, Dean didn’t feel at home anywhere anymore. Not even when he was sat between Roman and Roman’s twin cousins. Not even when Momma is giving him and Roman hot chocolate that she makes herself, something that Dean loves more than life itself half the time. Everything is duller. Sounds, tastes, sights, smells, even the feelings of touch. Everything seemed _unreal_. No matter how many times he goes through this, he could never get used to it. School doesn’t pass any better than his home life. He learns and comprehends but he feels that’s all he does. Regal instigates a lot of debates that Dean half-asses because he can’t be bothered to actually try. Regal seems to notice or seems to understand that Dean is going through something more than is just teenage angst, because he _never fucking relents._ He calls on Dean to give answers and he forces him to interact and Dean for a while thinks Regal might actually care, but that’s just outrageous because no teacher cares that much about a fuck-up like Dean.

Regal wasn’t the only one who seemed to be trying to get Dean out of the funk he found himself in teacher-wise. Mr. Colter is also right there in the front lines making Dean do everything he would have done if he was okay. Dean doesn’t know whether he’s okay with it or not, because it always leaves him with a throbbing headache when he leaves each of the classes, but at the same time, it makes him feel like he’s not as bad as he thinks he is. The students are doing a lot to try and help him too. _Damien from English_ talks to him idly in English when nothing is going on. Alicia talks to him idly about the other students and keeps him in the loop of some of the drama, and how some of them are interested in meeting him or something about how she was a part of the dance team or something just completely irrelevant to Chemistry that just made Dean want to grin. Nothing really happens in Geometry, but Mr. Cole looks at him like he doesn’t trust him and Dean doesn’t blame him. During lunch, the people that sit with Roman include him as much in the conversation as they can, but Dean thinks that’s only thanks to Roman and he can’t find it in himself to complain about his big brother trying to help him.

American History meant Mr. Colter, of course, and Seth Helmsley-McMahon. That’s the only class that really does anything for Dean after lunch – though Zack Ryder in Home Ec is always helping make Dean smile by tormenting Mr. Striker and Dean found out that the tall, creepy guy in Spanish II can in fact speak English and was part of what Dean now refers to as the Wyatt cult. Seth always is one of the students who enter in between the first and the last, so a regular student, really. He always sits somewhere where the seat to the side is taken. Dean doesn’t blame him in the least and actually thanks him for it during the month he could hardly get to any of his classes on time. It’s better for the both of them, especially after Dean realized just how easy they had been interacting before Dean’s little slip-up that he would never blame on Seth. There were just things that Dean did that were his fault because he didn’t have control over himself. That’s why his little family was split up in the first place, wasn’t it? But just because they were sitting away from each other didn’t mean there was no eye contact made. Every now and again, a glance was made and their eyes would meet and it was like Dean _knew things were going to be okay_.

Now, it’s a week into October and Dean is listening to his iPod – it’s a black 4th generation iPod Nano and you’re damn right Dean is proud to still have this motherfucker – and bobbing his head along to the tunes filtering into his mind. He’s back to his usual peppy self and had ended up going back home – to the Cena family – the previous night. He’s dressed in a Deadpool hoodie and jeans that were severely ripped in several places and he was ready to take on any challenges that presented themselves. It seemed to please everyone who laid eyes on him that he wasn’t lost to his own mind anymore. Hell, even as he enters English II, Regal is looking at him like he’s the best surprise he’s ever gotten. He doesn’t remember the last time he’s seen a teacher smile at him like he was the best thing that’s walked into their classroom, but that’s probably because it never happened. He takes his front row seat, still bobbing along to his iPod, giving Regal a devious grin to warn the man he was going to be getting his all today.

The class period went by and most of it was wasted with the students taking the notes from the board and Regal and Dean going at it in a full-on debate. It had Dean’s blood boiling as he argues everything that Regal says and even argues common facts because he refused to be proven wrong. The old man has a spark in his eye that tells him he’s pleased with the turnout. At the end of class, Dean is given a piece of paper with the name ‘Paul Heyman’ written on it. Paul Heyman was the director of the Student Council and was also the director of the debate club. Regal had mentioned Dean to him and he wants Dean to go talk to Heyman about joining both of the groups. Dean is smug more than anything and he feels that he has every right to be. Maybe it wasn’t as hard as he thought it was going to be to have the teacher realize that he was better than he had originally been pegged to be. That he was worth something (not that Dean personally believed that, but would you believe it if you were someone like Dean?). He promises, idly, to go talk to this Paul Heyman guy whenever he got the chance.

The rest of the morning passes by quickly. Dean doesn’t see Seth when he’s stopped at his locker before lunch, where usually the sight of two-toned hair graces his vision as he passes through with his group, and Dean’s kind of… put down by the fact, like maybe Seth was starting to finally avoid him now that he knew Dean was better. But that was _okay._ Seth had every right to try and avoid Dean. As Dean is still watching for the group and the Authority’s little boy, Roman comes like the savior to the story to stop Dean from pining. They end up walking to lunch where Dean talks to Roman and his friends, still waiting for the sight of Seth Helmsley-McMahon. Seth doesn’t show up in the lunch room at all. When Dean finally asks about it, Roman says it’s because they’ve started to have family meetings twice a week during lunch to make sure everything was going alright. That it’s been going on for a few weeks now. Dean’s not surprised he didn’t notice. Roman also mentions something about John saying Randy’s in anger management classes. Dean asks Roman if he thinks that Dean needs those. Roman just shakes his head and pats his cheek, telling Dean he was too stubborn to listen to anything the professionals would say. As much as it kills Dean to admit it, it’s true, and he’s so glad that Roman was blunt about it.

After lunch, he heads to American History with a bounce to his step that Mr. Colter notices as soon as he bursts into the classroom with an, “I am still demanding I get some kind of advice on how to grow an astonishing mustache!” Mr. Colter isn’t amused, from the first look. He’s just raising an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest, and apparently waiting for Dean to say something else that was perhaps worth his time. “Wow, still nothing? Look, man, I just went through a month of recuperation from whatever my head does. All I want is a little mustache magic. And not one of those cheesy teenage boy mustaches. I want something that will make people weep in its presence. I want some amazing villain mustache that has magical powers that defeat the heroes of the story.”

“Sit down, Mr. Cena,” Mr. Colter is saying, sounding absolutely exasperated, but his lips are quirking up and Dean knows things are okay because for some reason, Regal and Mr. Colter are on _his side._ They see something in him that Dean has never seen in himself. They see something past his rebellious outside and see something about him on the inside that was apparently worth something.

Dean looks around the classroom at the seats that were still available and he sees Seth with his head ducked into a book, obviously trying to make himself not look appealing at all. He’s wearing glasses today, which kind of makes his attempt at looking unappealing at least a thousand times more difficult. He looks nerdy and adorable and Dean just wants to have him back to where they were talking to Dean could take his glasses just to see what he would do. So, even though he feels Mr. Colter’s gaze on his back like a warning not to have a repeat of the previous month, he moves to sit to Seth’s left, pausing before he actually takes his seat. “Mind if I sit here or are you just going to move?”

“There’s open seats elsewhere,” is Seth’s immediate response, his leg jiggling a bit, but otherwise, he seems entirely too composed. Dean wants to break that composure. He wants to see what’s behind the façade Seth shows the rest of the world; he wants to know if it’s truly a façade or if this is who Seth was now. “But I’m not in charge of where you decide to sit.”

“There’s other open seats, sure, but I want to sit in this one and I want to know if I do happen to sit here if you’d just move to get away from me,” Dean states. It’s a test. That text message to Roman from Seth was alive in his mind now that his brain wasn’t fogged and he felt to be 100% back to normal. He wanted to see why he cared so much. He wanted to see if Seth actually did care still. Maybe he was just caring that day because he felt guilty, and if that was the case, Dean would leave him alone without any trouble.

Seth is just staring down at his book now, not even reading, just _staring_. Dean think he’s going to tell him to go away and Dean wouldn’t blame him. Then, brown eyes are training up to his face and with a slightly pissed off expression, Seth is speaking once more. “I’m not going to move just because you’re going to sit next to me, Cena. You’re a lunatic, you’re not an infectious disease carrier or something. Christ.”

It could have fooled Dean, the way some of the people looked at him and avoided him when he’s coming through the hallway. But he doesn’t want to push his luck, so he just sits down and pulls out the supplies that he would need for this class. Then, they’re settled in silence. Dean didn’t want to be the first to speak about anything other than seating and that conversation was long over. He wanted to see if Seth would be the one to try and start another conversation. He wanted Seth to know that he wasn’t just there to talk to him. Dean was just there because there was something about just being near Seth that made him feel that much better. He’s expecting the period to pass in silence between them. The honest surprise that strikes Dean when Seth begins to speak is pleasant.

“Your lip looks like it’s doing a lot better,” is what Seth is muttering, a touch of guilt to his voice. Dean’s lip had been better for a good two weeks now, of course, but he holds his tongue and doesn’t say anything on the matter. Seth was trying. That’s what had to be important now, right? “Looked pretty bad after…” he trails off, Dean seeing him bite his lip out of the corner of his eye. He turns his head just enough to catch Seth’s lip sliding from the confines of his teeth, watching the younger chuckle to himself on an exhale. It had been barely audible, but his lips quirk up with it. There’s still that touch of guilt there. Dean really wishes he wouldn’t feel guilty. This wasn’t his fault. “Randy really didn’t mean to do that.” Now _that_ is complete bullshit. Of course Randy fucking meant to do it. Dean wouldn’t believe otherwise. If he hadn’t meant to do it, he wouldn’t have done it (but that just makes Dean a hypocrite, doesn’t it?). “His emotions just got the better of him. I don’t know what you said to him, but it really messed with his head. But I’m glad you’re okay. All of us are. Even Mom and Dad.”

“Is that right?” Dean asks suddenly, amused, his eyes lifting from where he had busied himself with flipping to the page written on the board in his textbook. The weight of the pages were what kept him weighted from his negative emotions. He rubs his thumb over the corners, shaking his head with a soft chuckle. “Even your ma and pops are glad I’m okay? Still trying to get me out of their school, though, right? Anything to get a ticking time bomb out.” His words come out bitter by mistake, despite the fact he still has the ghost a smile on his face, and he feels Seth tense at his side, albeit briefly.

“They care about their students,” Seth mutters, seemingly going back to his reading and Dean feels momentarily agitated because this isn’t going very well at all. All he wants is to see if _it could work. All he wants is to know whether or not them being friends is something that was feasible_. He’s seen Seth being a complete and utter asshole, but something about it doesn’t seem right. It’s like an act to keep him where he was and to keep his family happy and himself safe. He wanted to break past all of that and pull him back into the family he belongs in. He wanted to see who his little brother really was now.

As Dean goes to speak though, the final bell is ringing and Mr. Colter is starting without preamble, his eyes trained on Dean for just a moment before he’s turning to the board. The American History class is spent listening to Mr. Colter ramble on and there’s no room for trying to continue or finish his conversation with Seth. Maybe that was for the best, or maybe it wasn’t. Dean would never know and he hates that he feels bitter about it.

When the end of class comes, Dean doesn’t try to talk to Seth because the Helmsley-McMahon son doesn’t even look back at him when he leaves the room. It stings Dean, felt almost like a blade in his chest, but he knew sometimes you had to go through pain to get to the prize. No pain, no gain, right? So, Dean decides to himself as he waves a farewell to Mr. Colter that it might just be the best time to go try and talk to this Heyman guy. If he wanted to talk to Dean like Regal mentioned, he could easily give Dean a slip that excuses him from one or both of his last classes, right? And if not, Dean would have them counted against him for all he cared.

Thus, he goes. The guy is located in an office of his own near the principal’s office. He waves mockingly to one of the security guards who had followed him around for the majority of his time spent in his funk as he passes, but gets to this Paul Heyman’s office without trouble. Paul Heyman is a balding man who was dressed in a suit and had something about him that screamed, ‘I’m the one you talk to if you need something done.’ He could have been the leader of a mob with the aura he was projecting, but something about him told Dean he was pretty wimpy all the same. He was probably all bark and no bite. Nonetheless, Dean ends up talking and debating with this guy for what feels like only a short time, but ends up being nearly two hours. They debate about everything, including the way schools were ran and the way the school lunches tasted. He debated about which of his teachers were the worst and which students deserved a swift punch in the face – much like the one he received, Heyman helpfully reminded. Dean respects him for it. Anyone else would have tiptoed around that. It was _natural,_ though. Dean just _talked_ and _debated_ with such ease, he even ended up talking some about himself and his childhood, begrudgingly. At one point he went into a large speech about _something_ that wasn’t even that important to him; just something he wanted to be right about it and he wanted to see the look on this balding fucker’s face. Heyman’s facial expression was kept incredibly blank. Dean was both surprised and impressed. The speech he gave only had Heyman sitting back in his chair and writing out a note, then tearing it out and writing another. Dean wasn’t sure whether he felt ignored or if he felt accomplished.

“Well, this was definitely eye-opening,” Heyman says under his breath and Dean gets this feeling of dread in his stomach, like maybe he wasn’t as accomplished as he thought. Maybe this guy didn’t see him being as good as Regal probably told him he was. Dean stares hard at him, managing to get Heyman’s attention without meaning to. “Next Monday, I expect to see you in room 306 for Debate Club. We meet on Mondays and Wednesdays. Next Tuesday, I expect to see you in room 306 for Student Council. We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Basically, every afternoon, Monday to Thursday, you will be coming to room 306 and staying after school until around 4PM. I understand this probably won’t be a problem, since your brother has practice until 4:30 every day, save Fridays,” he is rambling and Dean is bouncing in his chairs some, about to speak, but is cut off as Heyman continiues. “The thing you need to know about this school’s student council is _I’m_ in charge of who is on the committee and we don’t have tryouts for places. I assign them to you. Would you like to know which role I am assigning to you or would you just like to be surprised?” His voice is still near monotone, his expression blank, but something in Dean explodes with excitement, because he’s being _accepted into things. He’s being given roles. He’s actually making a mark on this school_. And yet, once more, before he can even reply, Heyman is continuing to talk, “Actually, I’m not going to give you a choice in the matter. I’m telling you. You are now Vice President of the Vince McMahon’s School of Excellence Student Council. The only reason you’re not getting the President spot is because there is already another student who has taken it. His name is Phil Brooks, but he doesn’t go by his actual name because there is a good chance you won’t be able to call him by it as soon as you actually get to talk to him. You won’t want to. He’s blunt, he’s careless, he’s in all ways and matters _better than you_ , or at least that’s what he wants you to believe and that’s what you will believe in the end. If you somehow manage to be better than him, then your spots will be switched, but don’t get your hopes up. Now, as good as it was to converse with you, Mr. Cena, I have to ask that you leave my office. I have another client coming in soon.”

He says all of it so fast, but Dean feels all of that excitement dull immediately at the mention of someone else being in the President spot – even if he hadn’t expected to even come close to being President. This Brooks guy likes to make people think he’s better than them? He’s going to get another thing coming whenever he meets Dean Cena (he still hates that name. Ambrose. Ambrose fits so much better). “Yes sir,” is all Dean is saying before he’s standing. He wanted to keep his impression under the ‘good’ category and not make a scene over the information he was given. He’s handed a note that excuses him from the classes he missed and he leaves, just like that. He had apparently missed hearing the last bell, because there are students everywhere at their lockers and talking loudly to one another like teenagers do. Dean is ducking around all of them and headed to his own locker.

Roman is leaning against the locker beside Dean’s, looking in the direction of Spanish II and where Dean _should_ be coming from, but is the exact opposite of where Dean is actually walking. So, _of course,_ he just _has to_ take the opportunity to put his books down a way’s away from where Roman is standing and without preamble, launch himself forward, onto Roman’s back. Roman stumbles forward, just about completely toppling over, but is scoffing as soon as he gets his footing.

“What the hell, bro?” Roman is asking with a laugh. “Did you take the long way around just to scare the shit out of me or something? I was worried you were getting in trouble with Mrs. Guerrero or something.”

“Nah, I got excused from the last two classes of my day ‘cause I went to talk to some Heyman guy after Mr. Regal told me to,” Dean is saying, hopping off Roman’s back and going to get his books again, returning to open his locker. He misses the look on Roman’s face, but he can feel some kind of protective vibes coming off of the older male now.

“You were talking with Heyman? Paul Heyman?” Roman asks, his voice taking on a suspicious tone, squaring his shoulders as if he was going to fight off this Heyman guy himself. Poor balding Heyman; seemingly enemies with one of the scariest fuckers on the football team. “What the hell were you talking to him about?” Protective Roman was coming out now, matching the vibes he was giving off. Dean could partially understand why. While his hairline was ridiculous and his suits were expensive, Heyman seemed a bit slimy; but he’s helping Dean out a shit ton, so even if it was a big deal, Dean didn’t want to know anything about it.

“I was talking to Paul Heyman about joining the debate club and something about student council. Regal mentioned me to him and he wanted to get a piece of me for himself, I guess. I am a great choice of a student to have on your side, after all.” He sounds smug even to his own ears and he’s not surprised when he hears Roman scoff. “In fact, you’re now looking at the newest member of both the debate club _and_ the student council. And not just _any_ member of the student council, but the _vice president._ So suck on that.”

The news seems to fall on deaf ears at first, making all of Dean’s gloating fade momentarily. What good was it to gloat to your big brother if he wasn’t going to listen? Dean actually has to look over at Roman to see if he even heard him, discovering that Roman is staring right at him, almost like he’s trying to figure out if Dean was lying or not. When he seems to determine that Dean is, in fact, telling the truth and not just lying, he’s grinning at Dean with this smile that is _brighter than the fucking sun_ in his pride. He’s patting Dean’s cheek immediately, cupping it and bringing their foreheads together. “That’s great to hear, Dean. It’s good to know you’re putting your big mouth to good use.”

Dean can’t help but grin back at him with a bright smile of his own, his tongue poking out from between his teeth when he tries to force it away. He doesn’t remember the last time Roman actually looked at him like that. Like he was proud of something that Dean had done and was _happy_ that Dean was doing something that the younger found fucking amazing. It made him feel _fuzzy on the inside. Like he hadn’t fucked up so bad this time._ He decided that feeling just a little bit fuzzy wasn’t necessary a bad thing.

Before Dean can really get to gloating though, Roman is getting called away by someone from the football team. It’s just some Freshman who looks actually terrified out of their mind to be coming anywhere close to Dean. He finds it amusing, but Roman is giving a nod and an easy smile to the kid, who is off once more when Roman says to give him a minute. Roman makes Dean promise not to get punched in the face today. Dean makes a big scene about it, but ends up promising it anyway with a big grin on his face. Roman gives him another pat on the cheek to make sure Dean remembers he’s proud of him, and then Dean was being left alone.

Not too big of a deal though, he’d get to go watch football practice and talk with some of the girls about butts – which he had apparently done at some point during his funk, if his memories served any truth whatsoever. He puts in his iPod earbuds again to give himself something to bob his head away to. The music was always Dean’s go-to when he needs to release some of the energy that he was feeling. He honestly felt like he was on top of the world now from the pride in Roman’s face and the pride he felt in his own mind.  It was a great thing to come back to after that month that he could hardly remember. He’s closing his locker now, still bobbing along to the music, and about to head out to the football field to watch practice. As he turns, he catches where Seth is watching him, murmuring away to one of the security guards.

Dean doesn’t try to get attention drawn to him by having the audacity to wave, but he does offer a smirk and a wink at the _princess_. He likes to think it wasn’t just his imagination when he sees a flicker of a smile on those lips and a flush on those pretty cheeks, but he doesn’t get much time to look before he’s heading towards the backdoors of the school.

But of course, the thing about Dean’s day is it seems that everything was happening at once now that he was back in good spirits. He doesn’t even make it to the football field to watch practice because along the way, he is plucked up by Alicia Fox and a few of the other females students. They’re talking to him and saying they had something they needed his help with. Dean could never say no to a group of pretty faces who looked like they would all give him a swift kick to the nuts if they had to. He was both terrified and excited for what was to come. All he hopes for was that this would be exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really just a filler chapter and most of these will be filler chapters for Ambrollins at-a-distance bonding until we get to about November in this story. So, bare with me. If you have any suggestions for exciting fillers, let me know! And if you want to know what I have in mind for some fillers, come contact me on Tumblr~ (dashingwithashield.tumblr.com/ for the holidays // stuckwithashield.tumblr.com any other time!)


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’d just see if it would die down on its own without him having to intervene when he had a toddler on his lap. He does, however, risk a glance over to where Nikki is spouting words at her sister and accidentally catches Seth’s eye. It’s quite the sight to see; the boy is looking at him with wide, confused brown eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! This is two weeks overdue! Sorry for the sudden break, guys! But I'll try to be back now!!

It was around the end of football practice that Dean finds himself leaving the presence of the females that had invited him to come with them because they wanted him to do something for them. And much to Dean’s disappointed, perverted, teenage boy mind, it had not, in fact, been an orgy. While it was disappointing, he really just had to decipher his expectations from porn and his expectations from reality sometimes, right? What they really wanted was actually sounding about ten times more entertaining to Dean anyway. The girls that had approached him were all members of the school’s dance team – they generally only did dances at big events, but Dean’s still surprised he’s never noticed them before – and they wanted this year to be something special, especially considering it was going to be the last year of what was deemed the ‘ _Reign of the Co-Captains_ ’ and actually heading into the year that would be deemed the _‘Reign of Reigns_ ’. Dean was surprised by the news of that, but apparently everyone who was anyone already knew Roman would the captain the next year. Dean didn’t try to contain his pride over the knowledge and no one asked him to stop smiling when he started, so there was really nothing wrong with the situation.

What the girls on the dance team actually wanted Dean to do was join them during the last game and the biggest game of the regular season before they go into the playoffs and win it. They wanted him to be a part of the dance routine, where they would be dancing to two different mashups of popular songs that Dean wasn’t sure he’d ever even heard of, even though they were popular (did he look like he listened to music very often? He still had a 4th generation iPod Nano, for the sake of all things good). He had agreed readily, of course. It sounded like it would be a lot of fun and he tended to dance and wiggle on his own half the time anyway, so it wasn’t like he was stepping out of his comfort zone. They all grinned at him like they were so glad that he had agreed to do it, so he’s nearly 100% sure this isn’t just some ploy to make him embarrass himself set up by his brother or something. Though, he wouldn’t doubt it if it was. Anyway, so, he’s heading out to the football field with a bit of a pep to his step – especially with those freaking remixes stuck in his head – to see Roman and John both looking at the stands like they were looking for him.

John turns at just the right time to catch sight of Dean and he points him out to Roman, who looks like he’s immediately relaxing from whatever tense mess he had worked himself into. Dean offers a nonchalant wave, a grin finding its way onto his face so he can flash his dimples. The remaining tension in Roman’s body visibly fades away as he grins back at him. Honestly, if anyone ever tried to tell you there was a better friend to have in the world than Roman Reigns, don’t believe them, because it would be a lie. Roman Reigns is the best that you can get. A perfect mix of everything that you would ever need.

“Someone was working themselves into a stress-induced fit over my absence,” Dean is immediately teasing, tugging at Roman’s hair with was damp with sweat and probably the remains of whatever water he had dumped onto his head before practice. Despite the fact that he hadn’t showered yet, Roman would be leaving soon. He never stayed behind to shower because he always went home and did it. It might seem a bit unsanitary, but the reason for that was he knew Dean would want to go with him. Dean much preferred going back to Roman’s house after school, but Dean wouldn’t want to wait for Roman to actually go through his full shower. Seriously, have you see the guy’s ‘mane?’ It takes some time to get that clean.

“You haven’t missed a practice since you got here,” Roman was saying as a way of explanation, patting Dean on the cheek in retaliation for his hair being pulled, “Just strange that you decided to today.” Dean wrinkles his nose at the feeling of the other’s sweaty palm, batting his hand away and wiping at his cheek with the sleeve of his hoodie afterwards. He didn’t address the issue on why he missed practice, for the girls had told him to keep it a secret so it would be a surprise for everyone. Roman gives a brief pause to see what Dean would say, but when Dean just shrugs, he continues speaking. “’Sides, we have to get going soon. Got a new addition coming into the family today. A little two year old named Maria who was taken after her mom couldn’t afford new clothes for the winter after she got laid off. Deadbeat dad, from what I’m getting. You still want to come?”

Dean didn’t know that there was another foster kid coming into the Reigns family. They hadn’t had any for a few months now and Dean thought maybe they had finally settled down and were just wanting to live out their lives. Of course, that wasn’t the case. Mom and Dad were too nice for their own good. “Yeah,” Dean answers when he realizes that Roman was staring at him and waiting for an answer. He doesn’t know how long he was lost in his thoughts, but Roman didn’t seem too phased. The entire Reigns family was much too patient with people, especially Dean; and if they could handle Dean, they could handle just about any kid sent their way. “Yeah, let’s see what this little snot machine looks like.”

“Hey, don’t be judging the kid before you even have a chance to meet her,” Roman is scolding with a chuckle, but is patting John on the back as a farewell and Dean is offering his brother a nonchalant three-fingered wave before he’s walking with Roman towards the car. “She’s been through a lot for her to be so young. I think you’re someone who can relate to having a so-far terrible childhood, even if her mom is trying to make the most of it. Maybe you can bond with her and you can be another temporary big brother to her until she can go back home or something.”

Dean gives a bit of a shrug, not entirely sure if he was comfortable with the idea or not. He had been an older brother once upon a time and we all know how that turned out. Let’s not damn this kid from the beginning of her foster experience, right? He gets into the car without word, not answering what Roman said, and Roman doesn’t press. They ride to the Reigns household with the smell of Roman’s sweat filling the car. Dean finds a weird kind of comfort in it. It’s something familiar for him to hold onto for the time being.

When they actually get to the Reigns household, Dad is out in the yard with a little red-haired girl who was toddling around in the grass. It was instantaneously that Dean felt the need to _protect_. Despite his best efforts to not let it show, Roman still gives him a knowing look that Dean wilts under some. He hates when Roman knows him better than he knows himself. Roman doesn’t speak on the matter, but rather just parks and gets out of the car, Dean being close behind to do the same. It’s only natural that Dean follows Roman over to where he was moving towards his dad and who Dean assumes is his new foster sister.

The little girl is adorable, to say the least. She looks extremely happy even though she had been separated from her mother. It was almost like she had the sun personally following her around; there was just something bright about her. She has a big smile on her face as Dad introduces her to Roman, who is smiling right back at her with that smile that normally would put the sun to shame, but it’s nothing compared to the brightness the child radiates. Dean feels a strike of hatred for whatever deity put the girl in the situation she couldn’t understand for just a spare moment, but pushes it away. He watches as Roman shakes Maria’s hand when she offers it like a formal adult. Dean can easily say that they’re all elated when a bubbly laugh bursts from her at the gesture. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as Dean originally thought.

When Roman excuses himself after the initial greeting is when Dean starts to feel a bit unsure. Dean watches as his big brother goes, preparing himself mentally for what might happen when he looks back at the child that was being welcomed into the family. It’s a pleasant surprise that when he glances back at the little girl, she is looking at him like he was God himself. Not that it didn’t leave him feeling just a bit freaked out, but it vanishes when the child began toddling closer and holding her arms up at him.

“Up!” She demands at him and Dean looks at Dad for a moment, who is giving him the go-ahead in the form of a wave of his hand. It makes Dean feel slightly uncomfortable, but he can’t afford the discomfort when Maria is pulling at his pants and demanding once more, “Me up!”

He’s just going to have to power through this, it seems. His irrational fears would have to be faced. “Alright, alright,” Dean is huffing, reaching down and plucking the girl up from where she was standing at his feet. Step one: pick up the child is complete. Now what? Before he can really start to second guess himself, Maria is immediately pushing a hand into his hair, not tugging or pulling, just resting it there. Well, he supposes he could work with that. He shifts on his feet before asking, just to make sure, “There, you happy now?”

“Yes,” she confirms with a grin on her face. Seriously, was the kid always this cheerful? “I am Maria. I am two.”

Besides the way that she seemed to have swallowed the sun with the way she’s so bright, it makes Dean smile the way she acts like she wants to be all grown up. His smile widens when she offers him a hand just like she had done Roman. He immediately shakes it, albeit very gently. “I am Dean. I am fifteen. I’m turning sixteen soon though. It’s nice to meet you, Maria. You have a very nice name.”

“Yes,” she agrees with a grin as she pats Dean’s cheek with the hand that wasn’t in his hair. “Hi Dean.” She gives a giggle after she says it, patting his cheek once more before she’s just laying her head on his shoulder. “I like you.”

The words make Dean grin ever wider, his cheeks hurting and he’s patting her back in a form of a hug. Hey, he’s not so bad at this big brother stuff, after all. If the kid likes him, he had to have something about him that was good. He had to be doing something right, right? The way Dad was smiling at the scene made Dean believe that he was doing good and with a glance to the side, he sees Mom on the porch smiling as well. It looked like a lot of people were on his side about this. He could be a good big brother. He _would_ be a good big brother.

“C’mon, Maria, why don’t we play a game while we wait for Roman? Roman’s great. He’s my big brother and I know that you’re going to love him as much as I do. He’ll be super nice to you and play all of the games you want to play and he will do everything to make you happy. He’s much cooler than me,” Dean is rambling on for a moment, not that the little girl seemed to really mind. All Maria does is lift her head from Dean’s shoulder and wriggles in his arms until he put her down on the ground again.

As soon as her feet touch the ground, her hand is clapping onto his leg and she’s toddling off quickly with a shout of ‘tag!’ Well, that was easy enough. Dean could do this.

So, he does. He runs around the yard chasing the girl until Roman is out of the shower and coming outside with his hair still damp – much to the displeasure of his mother. Mom begins to make a small fuss about the weather and how he would get sick if he didn’t wait for his hair to dry and Dean scoops Maria up. He doesn’t try to hide the grin he gives his big brother and feels accomplished when Roman just grins back at him the same way Dad and Mom had been smiling at him earlier.

It was still dawning on Dean that he really could do this, especially after Roman had set such a good example for him to follow. While the door wasn’t quite opening in his mind that he wasn’t just some fucked up curse of a big brother, it was certainly unlocking. It was a start that he needed. He can’t help but laugh when Roman apologizes to his fussing mother sincerely by saying he just wanted to get outside and ‘see the show for himself’. It doesn’t take a genius to know he’s talking about Dean and Maria. Dean feels elated, for some odd reason.

Roman comes over to them after his mother accepts his apology with just the softest huff. Dean doesn’t hesitate in passing the little girl to Roman, knowing that Roman would be much more entertaining than he could be. He was right on the matter, for as soon as he got the girl in his hands, Roman is tossing her up into the air. She is alit with giggles immediately and when she is caught again, she doesn’t hesitate in demanding that he do it again. He gets this grin on his face that he always gets around his new siblings nowadays and tosses her up again with, honestly, some hilarious sound effects. The girl is giggling as Roman continues doing it after.

 Dean can’t stop himself from grinning along with his big brother with the sound of the girl’s giggles filling the air. Pickpocketing Roman for his phone seems like the most logical thing to do in the situation when he thinks about how he wishes he could take some pictures. His only worry would be trying to figure out how to work it in time to be able to take photos and videos. To his surprise, he actually figures it out relatively quickly and manages to take a few good pictures before Maria is demanding that she be given back to Dean.

When she is given back to Dean, he is already worrying about what he would have to do to keep her entertained like Roman had. As a blessing in disguise, she decides she wants to be on the ground and walking again. Nevertheless, she keeps a hand in his and she points up into the sky with another hand. “Clouds!” She tells him and he smiles softly to himself as he looks up at where the clouds were. He’s momentarily reminded of when he and Roman used to lay on the lawn and look at the clouds for a while after Dean would go through his breakdowns. He wondered if she was wanting to do something like that.

Just to see, he is flopping onto the ground and laying on his back, one arm behind his head. He looks up at the sky, using his free hand to pat on his chest. “Yeah, booger, there’s clouds. Why don’t you come lay on me and we can look at them?”

Maria doesn’t need to be told twice, for she is immediately flopping onto his chest and rearranging herself to lay on her back, her head just under Dean’s chin. It’s not the most comfortable way to lay in the world, but it’s actually kind of worth it.

“Dog!” She crows out, pointing up at a cloud somewhere above them and Dean’s lips twitch into a grin that seems to be permanent at the moment. He doesn’t see a dog in any of the clouds, but he hums in agreement anyway. He could play this game. This was easy. Being a big brother was easy.

“Duck,” he points out to one of the random clouds and Maria is giggling before she’s making quacking noises. Damn kid was going to be the death of him, that was for sure. She was too cute for her own good. If she stuck around for too long, he’d be beating off those elementary school kids with sticks. Dean thinks he hears the distance click of the iPhone camera to the side, but he doesn’t look, just points out another cloud above.

He’s not sure how long he’s laid on his back with the little girl on his chest looking at the clouds with him, but after a while, she’s like deadweight. With a quick confirmation from mom and dad, it turns out that she had fallen asleep. He doesn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Did she feel safe enough to fall asleep with him or did he bore her to death? The smiles on the faces of the Reigns family tell him it was good, so that’s what he believed.

He doesn’t ask if Roman takes pictures because something about the look on the Samoan-Italian’s face tells him he did. He just hopes that Roman would print the photos out for him to hang up in his room. When he goes home a little while later, something about the day seemed oddly fulfilling.

Maria, of course, was a bit of a turning point in Dean’s life; not that she would ever come to know this. Girl was too young to be worrying about how she was going to be effecting people’s lives. It turns out, if you hadn’t guessed, she has this mega crush on Dean and loves to be anywhere near him when he’s around. If she wasn’t, she tended to get fussy and teary-eyed. So, naturally, Mom and Dad decided to just go with the flow. As much as it panicked Dean, they seemed to have trust him a lot more than he trusts himself. However, he would do his damnedest to keep this kid safe.

Which is how he ends up with a two year old on his legs when he’s at the football game that Friday evening. It isn’t the football game he would be dancing at, but nonetheless, he was there and hanging out with the dance team and a few guys. Besides Alicia, there were girls like Brie, Naomi, Cameron, Natalya, Rosa, among others; Dean just couldn’t remember all of their names. Brie was dating one of the guys that was in the group with them right now, Daniel, and Zack Ryder from Home Ec was there as well. They all were big fans of Maria, who seemed to be happy as long as she was in Dean’s arms.

After the first night of meeting Maria, Dean had gone into the school the next day with an entirely different view of the girls he was hanging out with. He felt more… _protective_ of them than he felt attracted. Not to say they weren’t attractive; he just had his _attracted_ attentions focused elsewhere. That, however, was something he didn’t want to delve into. It was dangerous territory and he generally just tried to ignore the topic whenever it came up in his own head.

And to keep you up to speed: Brie, one of the dance team girls as Dean mentioned earlier, was actually in some sort of feud with her twin sister currently. Her twin sister had been spending a lot of time around Seth Helmsley-McMahon and was actually probably one of his best friends, according to Brie. With some time to think about it, Dean actually kind of believes it. Looking more into his memories, he recalls having seen her around him the majority of the times that Seth’s been with a group. The twin dispute, though, is kind of how they find themselves in the following predicament.

Dean is sitting on the student bleachers with the girls, Daniel, and Zack with Maria on his lap. Maria is all wrapped up in a winter coat, a long-sleeved shirt underneath, pants, cute little boots, a toboggan, gloves, and was even wrapped in a blanket. It’s cold for an October night and Dean kind of wished he was as bundled as her. Her little nose is still red in the weather and Dean puts a gloved hand onto her face every now and again and tells her to breathe hot air so she could keep it temporarily warm. She had no idea how to do it at first, but ends up getting the hang of it after Dean gave an example. It seems to help some. He would have to ask Mom, Dad, or Roman what else to do for it later.

John and Roman are both on the field, of course, so Dean is pretty much alone to deal with the drama when Seth Helmsley-McMahon walks to the bleachers with his little crew and sit down not too far away. It’s no surprise to Dean when it doesn’t take long before Twin #2 (Brie’s twin. He forget her name already, he would pick it up from conversation) is beginning to talk trash, and quite loudly. It catches Brie’s attention and suddenly, there is a lot of hissing going on between both groups.

True to his word, Dean picks up the name Nikki from the conversation and places it onto Twin 2’s face so he wouldn’t forget it later, and as much as he wants to stop the argument early, he decides it’s in his best interest to just stay out of it. He’d just see if it would die down on its own without him having to intervene when he had a toddler on his lap. He does, however, risk a glance over to where Nikki is spouting words at her sister and accidentally catches Seth’s eye. It’s quite the sight to see; the boy is looking at him with wide, confused brown eyes.

He couldn’t for the life of him understand why he would be confused while he was looking at Dean. He had already labeled him a lunatic, so he obviously had an idea of what he was looking at. It was in his agitation that Dean nearly loses himself until he reminds himself of the presence on his lap. Maybe he could use her to distract the girls from hissing at each other.

“Warm breath,” Dean is telling Maria after a moment of planning out that idea. He says it just loud enough to perhaps get their attention and puts his hand to cup her mouth and nose again. He’s still hoping it will get their attention as he feels the child’s breath. Upon giving it a second before he was pulling his hand away again, he accepts defeat in the fact that it hadn’t caught the attention of the twins like he had been hoping it would.

Things were really starting to pick up though, especially when Brie wasn’t exactly listening to Daniel as he tries to tell her not to let her sister get the best of her. It seems the situation wasn’t just going to die away on its own, therefore Dean decides to step in as calmly as he could.

Of course, his calm happened to be dropping his voice a few octaves and making it a bit rumbly like Roman’s before he simply says, “Ladies.”

It certainly does catch both of their attention, as well as the attention of half of the people around them, Seth included. He is almost hopelessly head over heels when he watches as Seth’s chapped lips part some at the tone of voice he used. It’s like a physical battle for him to drag his eyes over to the twins again, but he manages, and he gives a sweet, dimpled smile.

“Honestly, I’m no saint. I enjoy myself a nice cat fight every night and again. There’s a lot of… tension in them that makes every teenage boy’s heart thump that weird way and it pulses all the way to some other parts of a teenage boy’s body. But really… now isn’t the time or place for it. Little Maria here needs to leave with good memories of the football game, you know?” It seems like a safe approach, bringing Maria into this. Several pairs of eyes move to the toddler in his lap, which is a good start. He could work with that. “Isn’t that right, sweetie?” He asks the toddler now to stay on the topic.

Maria is nodding and shaking a little pom-pom that she had been given by Mom immediately. “Go, Ro, go!” She crows loudly at the field and Dean is grinning and giving her a high five. A lot of the females – and even the males, but mostly Zack’s voice stood out – gave a small ‘aw’ at the display. Maria and Dean both bask in the attention and the sudden loss of tension as Brie seems to settle once more.

“And to be quite frank, there’s no need for you two to fight over whatever it is that’s going on. You two are two separate people who just have some differing and probably deal with too much of each other’s crap at home, am I right?” Dean asks, both of the twins staying silent as a form of answer. He shifts Maria in his lap so he could turn to face the ‘rival’ group some more. “Maybe it’s a bit… audacious of me to be so blunt, but you’re both beautiful women who I’m sure could ruin my ability to have kids and crack my skull against the pavement if you ever wanted to, which I have to say that is _awfully_ attractive. And I know Daniel here already has his arm around one of you, but…” He gives a crooked grin to Nikki, who just gives a bit of a smirk back. “Really, I’m always looking for a pretty face to light up my world,” Dean is murmuring to her, but his eyes briefly slide to Seth’s face instead.

Seth’s cheeks flush just slightly and he doesn’t miss the opportunity to try and put an end to the conversation before it even starts to be more than one-sided. “You’re a fu-“ is what is immediately beginning to come out of Seth’s mouth before his eyes sweep down to Maria. He’s breaking off, the flushed color in his cheeks is suddenly rushing to the rest of his face.

“What’s that?” Dean can’t help but asking, if only to spite him. He’s even going as far as to readjust Maria on his lap again, tucking her head under his chin as he looks at Seth. To go even farther, he flashes innocent blue eyes and a dimpled grin. The glare Seth is sporting towards him softens despite how obvious it is that he’s trying to keep it. Plus, it’s much less intimidating with that cute red on his cheeks.

“You’re a freak,” Seth decides on now, immediately standing from his seat on the bleacher. He was wanting to make a quick escape, it seemed. Dean must have gotten under his skin. “Why don’t we go find somewhere else to sit so we don’t have to deal with these l _ose_ rs anymore?” He asks his group. It would have hurt a lot more if he didn’t stutter ever so slightly over the word ‘loser.’ No one mentions it as they all immediately stand with him and head off the bleachers once more. Within moments, it was like they hadn’t even been there to begin with. Dean can’t even find it in himself to be sad about it.

Dean thinks that all of the problems of the night will be gone now until the game is over, but he proves to speak a little too soon. It was only a few minutes later that Maria starts to squirm around like she was restless, which would prove to be both a problem and a blessing. With her being restless, he could make an escape from the group – not that he wasn’t enjoying their company, he just needed some time alone – but at the same time, he would have to figure out what to do with her.

In the end, Dean decides that he would go ask Mom and Dad if he could take her to a nearby playground. Where there was the fenced in section of the high school and its football field, beyond the back gates of the school led through a small field to the playground of an elementary school. Generally, everyone goes there at some point or another during the football games, but it should be pretty clear since the crowd that frequented the football games at the beginning has lessened with the temperature of the weather.

He bids a farewell to his friends and they all gush over Maria once more before Dean and Maria are headed towards Momma and Poppa Reigns. When Dean asks about the playground, they agree, as long as he kept his phone on him, which he of course promises he would do. Then, he’s heading out the back gate of the fence where one of the school officials just gives him and Maria a smile as they go. He’s ready for some peace and quiet on the playground that is lit by just two street lights.

When they reach the playground, he sets Maria down and removes the blanket from around her so she wouldn’t get it dirty. While he had been slightly unsure if he would be comfortable with such bad lighting, she takes to the playground like she owns it, immediately climbing up the stairs – Dean following her, of course – of the structure that led to the top of the slides. She’s babbling on to him about how she was the princess and this was their castle or something, but she only gets so far into the explanation before Dean sees someone walking closer from the corner of his eye and is scooping her up. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t still has nightmares of his own childhood sometimes; of all the strange people who would come up to him on the playground. Those memories are what drove him to protecting his baby sister so fiercely now.

He turns to face the approaching figure, making sure that they know he’s looking at them and could see their face and wasn’t afraid to attack – despite the fact he had Maria in his arms, he really didn’t think this over – but his shoulders are sagging in relief when he sees that it’s only none other than Seth Helmsley-McMahon himself. Honestly, Seth is much better than any of the dangers that he had in mind. He could at least deal with Seth.

He puts Maria back down again, where she continues to explain the game like she hadn’t been interrupted. Seth steps a bit closer and his brown eyes are illuminated by the streetlight to the right, allowing Dean to now see that they were looking right at him.

Dean makes sure to keep hand on Maria’s shoulder at all times while his eyes stay connected with Seth’s; that way, he could make sure she stayed safe without having to have his eyes watching her at all times. She doesn’t mind, which is a plus. Kid was easy to deal with. But, back to the… _situation_ on hand.

The more he looks at Seth in this silence that’s over them, the more he wonders if the other male feels it too. This _thing_ that kind of just has them coming to each other no matter what now that they could again. Maria takes his hand from his shoulder, making a brief smile flash across his lips, before he’s removing his eyes from Seth and moving to the slide with her.

He’s waiting for Seth to say something as he sets Maria on his lap, but it’s only after they slide down and get to the bottom that Seth actually clears his throat to speak. He must have been preparing himself. Dean understands the need. Just knowing that they were about to talk when no one else was around is making his heart speed up.

“I heard you’re the new vice president for student council,” Seth is starting out by saying, which is good with Dean. That’s something that Dean is comfortable with discussing. It brings a smile to his face, in fact. He’s proud of it. “Mr. Heyman told Mom and Dad yesterday. Said he had the decision made for a few days though. You must have really impressed him.”

Dean’s about to say something in response, but there’s a brief… _something_ in his head that is giving him a hint; a brief _something_ in his mind that tells him that there’s something off. Seth wouldn’t actually want to talk about this, would he? No, Dean doubts he would. His parents probably aren’t happy about it, which means he’s probably not happy about it. It was a stepping stone. It was a bridge. Seth’s trying to get this conversation somewhere, but he’s going down the less bumpy road.

Dean’s not quite enjoying the topic as much anymore now that he realizes that, now that he realizes Seth’s only talking about it because it’s a safe topic. If there was one thing that Dean wasn’t too fond of when it came to conversation, beating around the bush was one of them. There was more to all of this than what Seth is saying. So, he holds his tongue and he doesn’t reply.

To distract himself, he just scoops Maria up from where she is attempting to climb back up the slick of the slide and moves them across to another structure on the playground, lifting her so she could pretend to do the monkey bars. She’s immediately squealing in delight, which means Dean grin once more.

The silence is thick for a while before Seth seems to get that Dean wasn’t going to be commenting on the matter of student council. He’s clearing his throat again and shoving his hands into the hoodie that he was wearing, biting his lip. Dean sees it from the corner of his eye and he forces himself not to look directly until after he puts Maria down again, where she toddles over to the swings. There were no ‘baby’ swings, so he puts her up on the ‘big-kid’ swing and tells her to hold on tight before giving her a soft push.

“This is going to sound like such a stupid question,” is what Seth starts out with this time and Dean is glancing over at him, keeping his comment about absolutely _loving_ stupid questions on the tip of his tongue, but not speaking it, “but… is… she yours?”

For some reason, that was not the question that Dean was expecting. He doesn’t know what he had been expecting, but this one actually exceeds his expectations. Dean’s looking over at Seth like he’s gone completely crazy. Honestly, however, with a moment of thought, Dean supposes it’s not _too_ crazy. He was pretty good with the kid and she was with him. Perhaps everyone who he didn’t tell ‘ _This is Roman’s foster sister, Maria_ ’ assumed it was his. Wouldn’t that be awesome? Imagine what the Authority was thinking.

He’s actually kind of tempted to tell Seth that she is, just to see what he would say. He’s thinking it through, but decides against it when he realizes connections could be made and Seth would probably just be pissed at him for lying later. “No,” he finally replies, lifting Maria – seriously, this kid was too compliant and much too chill; she’d just willingly be lifted and go with it – from the swing and holding her face near his face. “Does this kid look anything like me?”

Seth immediately looks awkward, kicking his feet in the mulch of the playground and giving a shrug of his shoulders. “I guess not, but you never know nowadays, you know?” He mumbles, biting his lip again and Dean’s envious for a brief moment. Thoughts flash through his mind on what it would be like to bite that lip himself, swallowing any sound Seth would make… He breaks his thoughts off just in time to focus on what Seth is saying. “She’s cute. You said her name was Maria?”

“Yeah,” Dean answers simply, sitting down on the swing and putting Maria in his lap now instead. Much safer. Much easier. Gives himself something to do too. He swings them gently, arms wrapped around the little girl. “She’s Roman’s new foster sister. She’s taken a liking to me.”

“I like Dean,” Maria confirms without prompting, nodding like it was just fact and not something that could be argued. In her case, it really wasn’t something that could be argued. Girl certainly had a type and it just so happened that her type was Dean Cena. “Dean is cute.”

Dean grins cheekily at that, pressing a kiss to the little girl’s toboggan. “You’re cute too, kid,” he tells her, causing her to giggle and cover her face to hide the blush that would still be there in a minute. It was adorable. He always felt like quite the charmer when he was around her. Poor kid would be breaking hearts left and right when she grew up.

Seth has the ghost of a smile on his face at the display and he moves closer slowly, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to come into the moment or not. Dean didn’t say anything against it, so Seth takes it as a pass of entry. The half-bleached blond takes a seat in the swing next to them, kicking his legs idly to get himself moving.  Dean takes a brief second to wonder why he isn’t with his group anymore, but he supposes Seth could be wondering the same about him. They’re submerged into silence once more.

Dean loses himself in the distant sound of the announcer shouting the calls for the game for the next few minutes before he realizes that Maria is getting heavier against him. He resituates them, managing to wrap her up in her blanket and cradling her to his chest to try and protect her from the harsh chill in the air. He’s struggling to keep her to his chest and get his phone out of his pocket so he could make sure he didn’t miss Dad’s call or text when a set of fingers help him. The phone from where it was halfway out of his pocket and Dean glances over to see it in Seth’s outstretched hand, the male giving a nonchalant shrug.

“Thanks,” Dean murmurs, because while he’s a freak and he’s an asshole, he still knows his manners. His fingers close around the phone, their skin brushing together in a way that was innocent but makes Dean’s skin prickle, before he’s retracing his hand with the phone in it. He’s so close to asking if Seth could feel it too, because he doesn’t think he could ever be alone in this. He bites his tongue, deciding to speak once more instead. “Not like those moms who can carry eight things and still text on their phones, you know?”

“You’re good with her,” Seth is commenting softly and there’s something else in his voice that makes Dean want to talk to him more, but he’s scared of what happens after tonight. He’s scared of what’s going to happen through the weekend and what will happen when they get to Monday and Seth isn’t talking to Dean again. This isn’t _special_. This is _rare_. This moment, this chat, it’s not going to last, and Dean’s not going to fool himself into believing it’s going to.

“Of course I’m good with her. I was a big brother once before and I’ve had a hell of a big brother for years now. John’s not too shabby either, but you know,” Dean grumbles. The words cause a sudden ball of tension that makes Dean feel sick to his stomach. He was a big brother once indeed, to the very male sitting at his side. He pats a dozing off Maria on her back in a rhythm to try and help her fall asleep and to busy his hands. He really shouldn’t have said that.

Seth is clearing his throat yet again, but it’s softer this time, and is going to speak when Dean feels his phone vibrate with a text message, a small alert sounding that cuts Seth off. He is immediately opening it and nearly praises every god he can think of when he realizes it’s from Dad telling him to come back because they needed to be ready to leave when Roman was.

“I’ve gotta go,” Dean is telling Seth, almost feeling bad when he sees the briefest, broken look on his pretty face but the guilt is overwhelmed by pure relief. He doesn’t hesitate in standing and pushing his phone back into his pocket, through which he somehow maintains Maria in a cradle against his chest without waking her. As he’s setting to leave though, something in his chest aches. His mind tells him, logically, that it wouldn’t be safe to leave Seth behind in the dark alone. The thought of leaving Seth alone when anyone could walk up makes his stomach twist unpleasantly. He turns back and this time, he’s the one clearing his throat. “I’m sure if I’m getting a cue, you’re going to get one soon too, Cruella. Not heartless enough to leave you alone in the dark.” It comes out muttered awkwardly, but there’s a certain look of relief on Seth’s face as he stands from the swings with a nod.

They don’t talk as they walk back to the gate of the fence, or as they pass through it, but they don’t miss the looks they get when they both offer the other a stiff nod and move to where their respective families were. Dean feels like someone lit a candle in his heart. There’s a certain warmth and _light_ there that makes his skin feel two degrees warmer. As he shifts Maria some, the little girl still asleep listening to his heartbeat, he can only hope the warmth he feels keeps her warm too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Comments and kudos are love!


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First week of Dean's schedule including debate and student council. And oh look, he meets Punk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. And by so long, I mean that 7 month hiatus I took randomly. My depression acted up and I had no writing muse at all. It was hell, but I hope I'm back now!!

Life continued on as boring as it possibly could be with so much going on when Dean left the football game with the Reigns family on that Friday night. Roman had tried more than once to talk to Dean about him being seen walking with Seth, but Dean told him minimum. Not that there was much to tell, obviously. He and Seth had barely spoken, but Dean didn’t expect Roman to fully comprehend just how strong the pull he had towards Seth still was. They had talked before about how it had been obvious when they were younger. Dean didn’t know how Roman would react to knowing it was still just as strong as it had always been.

Nonetheless, he ended up staying at the Reigns’ household until Sunday morning. The duration of the Saturday had been spent playing with Maria and also watching old wrestling clips, attempting again in his time to try and take Roman down – jokingly, of course. Around 11AM on the Sunday morning, he was picked up by Alicia after she had texted Roman to find out his whereabouts. They were to continue practicing the dance routine they would be doing at the game that was that Friday.

Dean couldn’t really say whether or not he was surprised that he was still kept on the team or not, if only for this brief time. He would have thought that his personality alone would make it to where they kicked him off within the week. They seemed to have really taken him under their wing however, which just made Dean feel warm inside. It was nice to be accepted every now and again, you know? Even if it was by the most unlikely of people.

Practice was a brutal experience, Dean was honest enough to say. They were trying to be perfectly in sync, but it was easier said than done. Every now again, someone (normally Dean, but not always) would make a fumble in their movements and be thrown off their game, so they would have to start over. And while they tried to their best to keep practicing outside – especially since that was the terrain they would be on when the game approached, the October air was beginning to develop that chill that made even the warmth of rushing blood cool in your veins. The girls all dressed appropriately for the weather as they practiced, but Dean couldn’t help but overhear conversations of the outfits they would probably have to wear just to keep the audience’s attention.

It didn’t sit right with Dean, whose mind supplied him with the image of little Maria having to dress a certain way just to be deemed worth someone’s time. Not that he wouldn’t like to see some of the girls dressed in the ways that they described, but they shouldn’t think that they have to dress that way just to entertain. So, when the words _“if they want skin, I’ll give them skin”_ pass through Dean’s lips, he means them more than they know.

He was picked up by John that night, but remained silent and secretive as to why he was spending so much time with the girls. He had become quite the expert on how to keep John from prodding too much. All you really had to do was bring up something that John would want to either a: talk about to his heart’s content because no one _ever_ listens to him (or maybe he was just trying to bond with Dean?); or b: argue about until he was red, white, and blue in the face. Dean always knew how to press each of his striped buttons, Mr. All-American Boy. So, when Dean and John get back home, John looking particularly red in the face and Dean looking smug despite himself, it is without argument that Madre and Padre let their youngest go upstairs.

The next morning, waking up for school was actually kind of refreshing. To know that he would be having his first meeting of debate that afternoon really just made his day before it even started. To know that he was making a mark on his school in a way he had never done before, in a different way that Roman and John were… it was heady. He was so ready to get to school that he was fully prepared to walk out the door before John was even fully awake. In fact, Dean barged in on him when he was still looking for a shirt and got an eyeful of mouth shaped bruises and scratches that tied into the bruises he receives from football. Of course, Dean makes a comment about them before John is kicking him out of the room without hesitation. So, interesting start to the morning, to say the least.

Regal’s class proved to make the morning even better. Regal decided he wanted to reenact some play or another, but he didn’t force Dean to interact with the students on the matter. Instead, he assigns some students who were excited about the matter – drama nerds, so it goes. They were already talking to Regal about having him help them form a drama club – and ends up talking lowly to Dean about the debate club meeting that would be happening that day.

After English ends, time flies easily. It’s probably the smoothest time has run for him since the summer time when he spent nearly every waking moment at Roman’s house. Lunch even passes easily, with Dean making an absolute fool of himself and Roman when he bursts loudly into song because he was in such a good mood. It effectively gets the attention of everyone in the lunchroom for a brief moment before Roman is shoving a cookie into Dean’s mouth. This move causes everyone at their table to laugh, and with a glance towards Seth’s table – because Dean couldn’t help himself – he sees Seth whispering to Nikki with a fond look on his face, brown eyes glancing in Dean’s direction once. Dean deems it a win for himself.

American History was pretty good as well. Colter had trimmed his facial hair some so it wasn’t as thick, but it was still impressive. Dean mentions it with a grin and a salute to the man, who just shakes his head fondly at him and sends him to sit down. When Seth comes in, he sits down to Dean without a single second’s worth of hesitation. They don’t speak to each other, but Dean finds a certain comfort in the fact that the other male isn’t trying to actively get away from him. Another step closer to where he wanted them to be.

The rest of the day passes just as quickly and when the debate club finally comes, Dean is pleased to be welcomed into the group so readily. Introductions are given first, where Dean is introduced to the captain of the debate team – some tool named Brad Maddox – and also chats with Damien from English for a few minutes. The ones in charge of debate were Paul Heyman and Mr. Regal respectively, both of whom were talking about Dean to the students (but Regal was doing a fair amount of bragging that had Dean grinning like the cat who got the canary at the other students). Finally, as they were getting down to the debating and explaining to Dean the rules, he ends up using a lot of the time they were explaining to actually _debate the rules_. At one point, he gets so ridiculous with his debates that he reduces Regal to a fit of giggles and has Heyman rubbing the bridge of his nose as he tries to keep himself composed.

When debate is over, he meets up with the girls of the dance team and practices with them for the thirty minutes that he can, before they’re all quickly going out to the football field to talk to Roman, because Dean was apparently going to be going back to Alicia’s house to work on homework and practice the dance until they all had to get back to their own houses.

It was a busy Monday, to say the least, and Dean woke up _exhausted_ the next morning. Everything passed slower and he was groggier. That doesn’t mean the day passed any more terribly than the previous day, however. English II was filled with chatting with Regal and Damien about tomorrow’s debate meeting, and about how Dean should actually try to follow the rules next time. Dean is grinning when he says he makes no promises. The rest of his subjects until lunch are, predictably, pretty boring, even though Alicia talks to him animatedly about the dance routine in Chemistry. They only had a few more days to perfect things, after all, even though they were doing a strikingly good job at it. Dean just can’t help but feel like he’s forgetting something.

Turns out he had been. Something very important, in fact. It’s during lunch that Dean has the realization of what he had been forgetting all day. He was having his first student council meeting that afternoon, which meant that he would be meeting this _Phil Brooks_ character that Heyman had told him about the previous week. He was sitting on Roman’s right when the realization hits him and time slows as his pulse becomes prominent in his ears. Everything goes extra sensitive. He can feel every single motion of Roman’s body, every shift and turn, and he has to excuse himself a few minutes early because his mind was reeling.

He hated how many people he had to prove himself to in this school, really. He never felt the need to do it before, but there was just something about the atmosphere that made him want to do nothing than just that. He finds himself in Colter’s class 5 minutes early, sitting himself in the back corner and pulling his hoodie over his head to brood alone to himself, putting in his earbuds in just to complete the look.

It’s not surprising when Colter is pulling his hood down and pulling out his earbuds, all while grumbling under his breath about how Dean wasn’t going to act like a hoodlum in his class. It brings half a smile to Dean’s face, but it falls away as the other students begin to pile in. Seth ends up getting there earlier than usual, pausing to scan the room. Their eyes connect after a moment, Seth looking surprised to see Dean out of his usual spot, causing a brief moment’s hesitation. The air is a bit thick as they just look at each other and Dean’s sure the male was going to sit somewhere else just because Dean changed places. However, the half-blond-half-brunette straightens up and moves with purpose to the empty seat beside Dean, sitting down without further ado.

Dean, like he had with Roman, was immediately tuned into every movement that Seth made without even looking at him. The other male was tenser than he usually was, like he could feel that Dean was off again today. He wanted to say something, Dean noted. One thing Dean had picked up about Seth was that whenever his hands weren’t busy and he was trying to gather the nerve to speak, he would continuously push his hair behind his ear until he finally spoke. It was happening again today. Dean leans back in his chair, but doesn’t look over at Seth just yet. He sees Seth glancing at him a few times from the corner of his eye, before Dean himself finally just sighs.

“What?” He asks gruffly, looking over at Seth now. The other male looks like a deer caught in headlights since he had been supposedly caught. The Helmsley-McMahon child flounders for a moment, lips parting and closing in quick succession. Dean actually thinks it’s adorable. His lips quirk up some and he notes that Seth’s eyes glance down at his lips. The small smile seems to give Seth courage, for it wasn’t long until he was finally able to produce some words.

“Mr. Heyman was talking to Mom and Dad about you today,” Seth manages in a bit of a rush, his eyes looking down at the floor between them. “He was saying that you’re very argumentative, but you did really well and with a bit of guidance, you can be one of the best things that’s happened to the school in a while, especially if you do well with your student council meeting today.”

The words aren’t what Dean was expecting. In fact, they were nowhere close to what he was expecting, and he’s gaping at Seth for a moment because his brain completely shut off for just a second. Heyman was bragging about him? Saying he could be one of the best things that’s happened to the school? That can’t be right. Dean was loud and brash and overall just a bad influence. There was nothing about him that was good, much less _the best_. Seth watches him closely, as if trying to figure out what his reaction would be to hearing all of this. When Dean doesn’t say anything for a while, Seth continues speaking.

“I just thought that would be something nice for you to know. I know I love hearing it when people say good things about me, and I think you deserve to hear something nice every now and again, you know? I’m just really glad that you’re founding your place here.” The power behind the words hit Dean more than he lets show, and the smile that Seth adds to it just makes Dean feel like he’s been knocked off his feet. All he can think to do is smile back.

The rest of the lessons before student council pass at a leisure pace. It’s like the universe is going against everything that Dean wanted just to make his life a living hell. By the time he was exiting homeroom at the end of the day, he was attempting to sprint to the classroom that student council was being held in. Of course, attempting is the keyword in all of this. He’s barely halfway to room three-oh-six when Roman is grabbing his arm to slow him down.

The look on his face tells Dean that he had been trying to get his attention for a while before he had caught up to him; it was an expression that mixed between exasperation and annoyance. Dean gives an awkward, apologetic smile and shifts his books some in his arms. He realizes that he should probably stop by his locker and get his things ready to leave before he actually heads towards student council…

“Where the hell are you going in such a hurry, man?” Roman is asking him, sounding a lot less annoyed that Dean would have thought he would sound from the look on his face. “I get that you’ve got student council today, but it doesn’t start for another fifteen minutes. What’s got under your skin?”

The tone of his voice makes Dean think that he’s already blaming the Authority; the way his jaw sets makes Dean think that he’s already blaming Randy or Seth. Dean can’t let that train of thought keep going, that’s for sure. Last thing he needed was for there to be some drama happening when Dean was trying to make things better between himself and Seth.

“Nothing. Just wanna make a good impression, but you know how I always go overboard with that shit,” he says in an offhand comment, waving his hand at Roman and giving a small smile. “I’m going to head to my locker now. I’ll see you after practice.”

It was honestly an attempt to shake Roman off his case quickly, but getting rid of Roman was never that easy. He was giving Dean that _look_ that told him he knew that this was under his skin and he wasn’t going to leave him until he absolutely had to. Dean sighs, but allows for Roman to walk with him towards his locker. Wasn’t like there was much he could do to stop him anyway. He puts away his books and Roman just leans against the locker next to his in silence, watching him. It only takes a few seconds before Dean caves.

“I have a lot to prove to a lot of people, Ro,” is what comes out of his mouth without his permission, not daring to look at the Samoan boy. “Teachers, students, fucking _security guards_ … I just feel like the entire world is just waiting for me to fall on my face and realize that I’m not as good as I say I am. Little do they know that it’s all just a front, right?”

He doesn’t know what’s pushing him to say all of this _now_. He’s not drinking, he’s not even being forced. Maybe it’s just because it’s Roman, and he always talks to Roman, about everything. He hates that he chose this time to do so, however. When there were so many potential eavesdroppers; when he was in the fucking school hallways.

Like always, Roman is stony silent during Dean’s brief but important confession. He’s just watching Dean when the younger glances to see what his older brother was doing. Thankfully, Roman didn’t look pitying – he never pitied Dean – but he didn’t look at a loss for words. He gently moves a hand to Dean’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. It grounds Dean in a sense, like it always does. The look they share is filled with meaning, words being exchanged without a single sound being uttered.

“You don’t got a damn thing to prove to anyone, De. They either see what you’ve got to offer or they’re going to get left in the dust when they finally see you’re worth more than they thought they knew. Nobody’s gotta believe you’re the best damn thing this world’s ever seen, but just because they don’t believe it doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

The words combined with Roman’s most sincere smile has Dean feeling like he’s a thousand times lighter. What’s up with Roman and always being able to repeat things Dean says to himself, but make Dean actually believe them? Not that he’s complaining or anything.

“Damn right,” Dean is replying, pulling out what he would need to take home with him (and a notebook, just in case he needed to write things down at student council). “I don’t got a damn thing to prove to anyone. I’m great. I’m the god damn best. I’m a blessing.”

“Damn right,” Roman repeats with a laugh, pressing a kiss to Dean’s temple. “I gotta get out to the field before your brother has my balls, though. Tell me how the meeting goes. Try not to cause too much trouble.”

“When do I _ever_?” Dean asks in mock offense, but Roman is already heading off, so that’s the end of that conversation. Once more, Dean is left alone, but this time, he feels less inclined to make such a good impression. No one likes a try-hard anyway.

The journey to room 306 was short, but he takes it slow. When he enters, a group is already there, sitting in desks that were formed into a circle. He pauses momentarily, taking in the group that were conversing. He recognized Nikki Bella, who had her hair drawn up into a pony tail to keep it from her face. She was tapping at her notebook that was filled with colorful writing, talking about how she had come up with well over 15 ideas that they could use this year.

Another male he recognizes, but only by association. He was tall, his head shaved completely, and he had thick ginger facial hair. Dean had seen him before, with the Wyatt cult. He and Luke were brothers of some form – kind of like Dean and Roman, he guesses. But despite the fact that he was in the Wyatt cult, Dean knew he was damn tall, and his expression at this moment was completely stoic, he didn’t seem all that intimidating. He seemed quiet and reserved, but friendly.

Beside the tall ginger man sat a small female who was wearing a pair of glasses not unlike the ones Dean had seen Seth wearing that one day. She had her long hair pulled up into a messy bun and was wearing a Batman shirt with a pair of pants that were half red and half black. She was watching Nikki intently, but her feet were propped up in the lap of the male on her other side.

It was at this time that Dean knew this was the man he had heard about. While his back was to Dean and he was completely silent, Dean could feel the smug vibes rolling off this guy in waves. This had to be Phil Brooks. This had to be the man that he had been told about. His hair was short and he wasn’t as broad as John and Roman, but he seemed to be completely filling the room now that Dean had noticed him.

Before he can figure out his course of action though, Nikki noticed him and was grinning at him, offering a wave and a “Hey Dean!” in greeting, as if they were friends. It threw him for a loop mentally. He manages to keep cool on the outside though,  grinning back lazily and offering a small wave before moving towards the group. Heyman was yet to be in the room, but that doesn’t matter. He pulls up a chair between Nikki and the male he assumes is Phil Brooks without prompting.

“Hey there, sweetcheeks,” he offers with the same lazy grin. Nikki rolls her eyes at the nickname, but doesn’t outright say anything negative about it. “Seems I got here a bit later than I should have. Got caught up with something.”

“No worries, Heyman isn’t here yet either. We can’t exactly start until he gets here,” Nikki seems to set about reassuring him. He can’t help but wonder momentarily why she’s being so nice to him. It’s not like he could really offer her anything. The only time that he had any form of interaction with her was when he had been hanging out with her twin sister when the two had a spat at the football game on Friday. On top of that, he was hated by her best friend, for the most part… Or maybe this hadsomething to do with Seth…

Before he can properly expand on that thought, however, the man to his opposite side is clearing his throat loudly, demanding attention. Nikki is immediately going silent with an annoyed look on her face, but her eyes divert to the source of smug waves. Dean waits a good few moments before he was turning.

Seeing his face, Dean can see that the male had facial hair that was pretty neatly trimmed, and a small clear piercing on his lip; a retainer for the real thing, Dean’s sure. He was assessing Dean as much as Dean was assessing him, both of them staring at each other for a good long moment.

“You’re Dean Cena, then,” the teen says, taking no pause in thoroughly assessing Dean. Dean narrows his eyes and doesn’t give any kind of affirmation. They continued to stare at each other, everyone in the room seeming to feel the tension between the two of them. It was almost awkward; almost uncomfortable. It was silent until the smug teen gives a mocking smile. “Cat got your tongue there, Dean-o?”

Dean feels his lips twitch and he just continues more-or-less glaring at the male. “Perfectly capable of talking, just don’t think you’re quite worth the waste of my breath.”

Phil Brooks snorts and arches a brow at him, that mocking smile still in place. “Oh, you think because you impressed Paul that you’re worth something? Or is because that you’re a Cena that you think you run this entire school? Because I put your brother in his place and I’m sure as hell not scared to put you in yours.”

Dean arches a brow right back at him, the words that are meant to rile him up just making him feel more like he wanted to laugh. This punk ass put John in his place? Nice to know. Wonder how that went for him. “I’ll ask you the same question I asked the two heads of the school: do I look like a Cena to you?” he drawls. “John, he’s a bit too nice for his own good, I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

“And you’re not?” Phil Brooks challenges and Dean watches him closely for another second, before his lazy smile is back in place. Phil Brooks doesn’t seem bothered by it; doesn’t even seem fazed. They’re left looking at each other and Phil Brooks looks like he’s going to say something. It was at this point that Heyman decides to make his appearance, and that’s the end of that – or so Dean thought.

Heyman enters through the classroom door and pauses to assess the scene in front of him. The air was still thick with tension, but the elder man seems to look right past it. “Oh, good, I see you’ve met Punk,” Heyman comments, and Dean takes a second to click the nickname to the guy, but he decides that, yeah, it fits. _Punk_ smirks at Dean, once more trying to get under his skin. Dean gives no indication that he recognizes this. Instead, he looks at Heyman, arching a brow as he waits for the man to continue. “And I assume that you enjoy Mr. Cena thus far, Punk?”

“He’s alright. Kind of mouthy, but that just means I’m going to be leaving this school in alright hands, doesn’t it? Making sure Hunter and Steph aren’t getting too comfy thinking their student population is ridded of someone to cramp their perfect style. Don’t take too much of that as a compliment, though, Cena, you still seem like you’re finding your way. You might just end up like John yet.” The last part is added as a backhanded insult, but Dean is too shocked by the sudden compliments he had received to notice. “Wondering if he’s as good as you say he is. Being a lunatic could put a damper on things, couldn’t it?”

Another insult, but Dean is preening obnoxiously now that the compliments registered. In fact, that’s all he could think about now. “Kind of mouthy? I’m not meeting quota if I’m only _kind of_ mouthy, but I’ll take your kind words anyway. How about we get down to business and see how good I really am? Pretty excited to boot you out of that President spot.” Punk actually looks amused by this more than offended or annoyed, so maybe this is actually something that could work. Maybe they could have that mutual respect. The tension is draining away as if it was never even there.

“Getting down to business would be the best since I am already five minutes late, something that I am very sorry about. I got caught up with dealing with a phone call in my office. I gave you an assignment last Thursday to try and come up with some ways to raise money for the school this school year. Since this is Dean’s first meeting, we’ll excuse him from having to give any ideas… Unless he can come up with one, of course. First things first, however: did you meet everyone already, Mr. Cena?”

Dean shakes his head, speaking, “No, I already know Nikki here and Punk and I had a few minutes of longingly gazing into each other’s eyes, but I don’t know their names.” _Their_ referring to the girl with her feet in Punk’s lap and the tall Wyatt cult ginger.

“Ah, well, why don’t you two introduce yourself to Mr. Cena while I set up everything?” Heyman asks, allowing for himself to look a little unsettled when he thinks no one can see his face. Whatever that phone call was about probably hadn’t been too good.

The girl starts first, without further prompting. “It’s a pleasure to have you added to the committee, Dean. I’m AJ Lee. I’m our co-commission of spirit and commissioner of community service, as well as more or less co-president,” she tells him, smiling sweetly at Punk who gives a soft snort. “I hope that you don’t disappoint and that you feel welcomed into our little group! Don’t take anything he says too seriously. He’s a big teddy bear.”

“To you, maybe,” Punk is huffing out, but he’s looking at the girl like she created the world itself and Dean has a feeling that she’s his only soft spot. He doesn’t mention anything of it, especially when Punk sends him a threatening look. Not that it scares him, he just doesn’t want to cause a scene. Guess that tension was gonna be there for a while.

The ginger giant looks at Dean now, examining him much like Punk had, but with less expectation in his gaze. “My name is Erick Rowan. I am our treasurer and commissioner of ecology. You have Spanish class with my brother.”

“Yeah, I thought I saw you two hanging out before. He’s a… cool guy,” Dean says, slightly forced, but Erick just gives him a smile. Might as well get on his good side, right?

“What are you, Nikki?” Dean asks after a moment, looking over at the female who was scribbling away at her notebook. With her being Seth’s best friend and Dean wanting to get on Seth’s side, it might be better to leave a good impression on said best friend.

“Co-commissioner of spirit and commissioner of sports,” she says easily, grinning while she does so. “I have a lot to do with all of the games and practices that come with the sports around here. I have a lot of power.”

“How scary,” Dean comments, but he’s grinning back at her. “Are you someone I have to thank for Ro most likely becoming captain of the football team next year?”

“I’m _one_ of the someones,” Nikki confirms with twinkle in her eye. “But no thanks needed. He was the obvious choice.” Dean preens again, despite the compliments not being directed at him. He was so proud of Roman.

Discussions begin shortly after that, with Nikki being the one to start them by bringing up the idea of a Pink Out for a fundraiser. “It would be something that would be proactive in the community, bring awareness, and we could also donate a bit of the funding to-“

“We’re raising money for the school so we can do extracurricular activities without raising the price of the tuition to go here in the first place, not for cancer research,” is how Punk shoots it down immediately. It’s a harsh way of doing so, but Dean admits he has a point, and no one seems overly offended. It gives Dean an insight in how Punk runs things.

After the Pink Out came the idea of a costume contest from AJ, who goes into wide detail about how the students would pay 10 dollars to enter and how they would also be allowed to wear their costumes all day on Halloween. She also adds that she would personally give them the reward they would get – something candy related – and that they could all be the judges for it. Punk seems to consider it and there is a big conversation they have with their eyes – is that what Ro and him look like? God, he hopes not – before Punk is saying in a slightly huffed voice, “bring it up to Hunter and Stephanie, Paul.”

Punk brings up the idea of having a day a week that is spent where people can pay three dollar for each article of clothing they wish to wear that is against school regulations. Jeans that are ripped or off-colored, shirts that are against dress code, hoodies, hats, sunglasses, etc. Every Friday is what he was thinking. Besides a few points that parents might not be too happy, no one could think of anything against it. Heyman writes it down along with the costume contest.

Twice more, holiday related ideas were brought up, but both of them were shot down immediately. It was in a moment of heated silent between Nikki and Punk when the classroom door is being opened slowly, as if trying to go unnoticed. All heads – including Heyman’s – turn to look at the door as an awkward Seth Rollins peeks in. Nikki is immediately grinning – Dean can see it from the corner of his eye – and he feels his own lips quirk up slowly as Seth’s cheeks tint a light pink.

“Can I help you, Mr. Helmsley-McMahon?” Heyman asks, sounding annoyed, and Dean’s small smile turns to a frown at the tone, but he doesn’t look away.

“Mom and Dad said they wanted me to sit in and listen to some of the ideas that you guys were suggesting,” he’s stating immediately, closing the door behind him as he enters the classroom to show that he was planning on staying, no matter the argument. Dean can’t help but give a small smile again.

Heyman takes it in stride, turning up his sarcasm as he speaks again. “You know,” he drawls slowly, “Mr. Helmsley-McMahon, from the moment that Dean Cena here has entered the school, we the teachers had all gotten numerous emails demanding a good distance be kept between the two of you. It’s really hard to do when you seem to end up in _every room that he is in_. I don’t think it’s coincidence anymore.”

Seth’s pink cheeks turn a bright red now, but he’s glaring openly at Heyman with heat in his brown eyes. “I think you fail to understand that my parents _aren’t concerned with Dean Cena anymore, Mr. Heyman_ ,” he hisses out. “And wherever I end is none of your business when it’s my parents who sign your paychecks.” It’s an ugly thing to say and Dean feels a grimace cross his face, which Seth seems to notice. It causes a brief hesitation to pass over Seth’s face before he’s taking a deep breath. “Sir, in case you fail to have noticed, my best friend is actually in this room and we have plans for after this anyway. And with my parents wanting me to… _supervise_ your little meetings since you have been otherwise distracted, I didn’t think there would be any harm. Is there a problem?”

Heyman is staring hard at Seth, who is sitting down in the furthest desk that he could. Finally, the pudgy man sighs and continues on as if Seth didn’t even exist. “Erick, we haven’t heard an idea from you yet. We talked last time about how you needed to speak up.”

“Sorry,” Erick is saying immediately, his voice slowed some, before he is looking down at the notebook in front of him. “I managed to think of a few ideas since Thursday, but the one that has stuck out the most in my opinion would be wine tasting for the teachers and parents.”

There’s a pause at the suggestion, everyone finally looking away from Seth and to Erick, who was looking at Punk as if waiting for the criticism that he knew would come. Punk’s lips are parted, but his brows are furrowed in confused thinking.

“Erick…” Heyman starts out, being the first to speak on the topic, his own voice slow now, “Not only would that be an idea that we could potentially never be able to get passed with Mr. and Mrs. Helmsley-McMahon, but where would we even be able to get the wine needed-“

“My family makes wine,” Erick is quick to say, his tone entirely serious, his gaze intense. Everyone is quiet, including Heyman who looks slightly uncomfortable as he glances over at Seth.

“Does anyone else have any ideas?” Heyman asks, hoping to change the subject, but the more Dean thinks about it, the better that it sounds to him. He’s immediately standing and Heyman looks almost relieved. “Oh, good, Mr. Cena-“

“I think Erick’s idea is pretty good,” he cuts him off to say and Heyman looks mortified. “Hear me out. Hear _him_ out. Hey, Seth,” Dean spins around to look at the blond-brunette who is startled at being called out, “How often do your parents have a glass of wine? Just to relax, for celebration, anything.”

“Ah,” Seth stammers for a moment, before composing himself with an answer of, “At least once every two weeks. Generally more, but it differs.”

“Alright, so, once every two weeks. How about you, sweetcheeks? How often do the Bella parents have themselves a nice glass of fermented grape juice?” Dean asks Nikki next, who seems to have been assuming the question would be turned on her next.

“Every Friday night after dessert,” she answers smoothly, seeming to be on the same track as Dean now.

“And how about you, Ms. Lee? Your parents ever have a glass of wine?” Dean asks next, and AJ is shrugging.

“When we go out to dinner mostly. Not as often a thing for my family, but I know a lot of families who drink a glass or wine to relax every now and again,” she answers, but Dean is not thrown off, looking directly at Punk now.

“How about your folks?” is all he says. Punk is quiet for a moment before he’s looking up at Dean with a look of disgust on his face, hatred in his eyes. Like he thinks Dean is using this against him somehow. Like he thinks Dean knows something.

“Parents are addict. We have a lot of shit in our house, but money and nice booze are two things that don’t exactly exist under my roof.”

The words are quick to throw Dean off, but he doesn’t allow it to show on his face. “That sucks man,” is what he allows himself to say on the subject. He knows Punk isn’t looking for pity or for sympathy. He was saying what he said because he thought that Dean already knew and was being a dick about it, more than likely. “My folks, personally, the Cena folks, they have themselves a nice glass of wine every other weekend or more, same as Seth’s. They sit down and they talk over it. Talk about their weeks, relax, let all the stress roll off them as they sip at their adult juice. A lot of richer folks do it, I’m sure. And to go to this school, you either have to be rich or you have to have a scholarship. And if Erick’s family has wine we can use, could you imagine how much money we could get from that?”

“No reimbursements are needed,” Erick is adding now, and Dean is waving at the ginger fervently as if that just adds to the pros of the situation. Heyman looks disgruntled.

“Fine, we’ll mention it to Mrs. Helmsley-McMahon,” he finally allows, “Now, can we _please_ change the subject? And please sit down, Mr. Cena, unless you have an idea.”

Dean stands for another moment, feeling a tad aggravated with Heyman and looking at the other students. He catches the glare that Punk is still giving him and he has an idea pop into his head. He grins, which seems to unnerve Heyman further. “We need to play to our strengths here. We’re dealing with _teenagers_ and _teenagers_ like seeing the people they don’t like have something bad happen to them. We have to appeal to their thirst for minor damage towards the people they don’t like.”

“Mr. Cena, we all know you have a certain keenness towards violence, which is why we were all warned about you in the first place-“ Heyman starts out slowly, just like he had with Erick, but Dean continues on.

“Nothing _drastic_ , man. Sir. Something simple. Like… You start collecting money now, near the beginning of the year. Students put money towards the name of whatever teacher or authority member they don’t like the most. Any number of money. You’re going to put it in jars, or have someone collect anonymous money donations in envelopes at the end of each day or something from the classrooms. Have the jars in the homerooms. I don’t care how you do it. We just need to have an easy way for students to put money towards this. And at the end of the schoolyear, you collect all the money and you count it all up and the top… 3 teachers or authority members with the most money in their jars have to…” he trails off, brows furrowing as he waves his hand, trying to catch some idea out of midair. “Kiss a pig.” Pause. “And I don’t mean me, so neither of you even try to go there,” he adds, waving at Nikki and AJ who had been sharing an amused look. The girls snicker while Punk snorts. Heyman looks thoughtful, before he’s writing down the idea. Dean grins and sits down, but attempts to subtly turn around to look at Seth. The other boy looked amused, grinning back at Dean.

He idly hears Erick say something along the lines of “My family has a pig that we would be happy to donate for a day to the cause” but he doesn’t turn around until Nikki is nudging him. As he turns to face the board again, he catches the smile on her face. Life was certainly looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments would make my day!!


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, honestly!! I had a funeral yesterday, then proceeded to work until midnight, then I came home and fell asleep. Woke up this morning at 10, wrote for a few hours, then had to go to work /again/. Worked over half an hour, accidentally spent another half hour doing other things, then got home around 7:40 and have been writing ever since, as well as doing some schoolwork. This chapter is unbeta'd, sorry!!
> 
> These links might also come in handy when you get to where Dean is dancing~  
> First Song (Fancy Problems mashup [Problem by Adriana Grande & Fancy by Iggy Azalea]): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZSJckTJ8Y8  
> Second Song (Shake That Bass [All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor & Shake It Off by Taylor Swift]): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZSJckTJ8Y8

The end of the meeting of Student Council had come smoothly, even if they did end up ending ten minutes early. It was with ten minutes left that a large, blond, almost gorilla-looking male had come into the room. He had come into the room with firm steps and a long strides, had his gaze set strictly on Mr. Heyman, and the only words he uttered – in a voice that Dean would have never placed on the guy – were “I need to talk to you.” It was like flicking a switch in Heyman. One moment, he was in student council mode, the next he wasn’t. He was stony-faced and nodding, his body language changing. Dean heard just the smallest sound of a chair moving across the floor and barely had time to look over his shoulder before Seth was out of the room. The large, blond male glanced over his shoulder in a bit of confusion, but decided it hadn’t been worth his time and had turned back to face Heyman. Student Council was dismissed immediately and everyone was given three minutes to get out. All of them were out in under one.

Dean had honestly never been more confused in his life over a situation. Normally, he had a decent read on a room, especially if tension was involved, but he didn’t even know who the large blond was. It must show on his face, before he’s hardly ten seconds from the classroom when Punk is beside him, by himself.

“That’s Brock Lesnar,” he explained without prompting, giving a small smirk as he looks over at Dean. “You might think I’m bad, but him? He’s the biggest asshole around. He’s strong and he knows it. He’s pretty scary and he knows it. More than anything, he has Paul Heyman wrapped around his big, fat little finger. Paul puts Brock first, no matter what it is. He’s his number one priority. Not to say Brock makes it easy on him. Aside from causing his fair share of problems with some good guys – like your brothers, John and Roman – he has a fuck ton of problems with Hunter.”

Dean’s interest had perked immensely at the mention of the guy having problems with Roman and John, but it had perked more at the mention of _Vamoose_ ’s Vice Principal and the blonde having problems. “What’s the beef he’s got with the Authority?” Dean questions, looking at Punk, who gives a shrug, as if the answer was something that could only be speculated.

“God if I know. Hell, I’ve ever heard Paul say that he doesn’t have a clue before. It’s like Brock came in and Hunter just immediately _didn’t like him_. And it’s not like he doesn’t let it show or anything. Neither of them are exactly hiding the fact that they don’t like each other. Hunter doesn’t understand how much trouble that causes for his little golden child though…” Punk trails off, looking at Dean with some _meaning_ in his eyes now.

“You mean Seth?” Dean inquires, his voice sounding a tad more strained now even to his own ears. Seth is getting shit for _Brock Lesnar_ because his dad doesn’t like him? That’s not fair at all. And plus, Brock could probably destroy Seth – no offense to the little blond-brunette male or anything. Brock just… he seemed like he could potentially tear anyone apart.

“Yeah, Seth,” Punk confirms, his voice a tad softer now. Dean gives him an odd look, because the look on Punk’s face says that he wants to say _something_. “What got you to be such a bad guy to the Authority anyway? To be such a _danger_? Because I don’t mean this in a mean way, but you don’t seem very dangerous. Reckless, maybe. Idiotic, sure. Dangerous? No.”

Dean gives a sheepish little grin at that, shrugging his own shoulders now as he looks down at the ground, memories filling his mind against his will. “My little breakdowns is what got me there. Like, I don’t know how much you actually know about me, Punk, because I know jackshit about you. And I don’t know how much you actually know about Seth, but I’m going to… give you a little information. In trade for, you know, explaining who the fuck that ape-man is…” He feels his own guilt and shame forming at the back of his throat like bile as he even thinks of saying something about his past. It was burning ever so slightly, but he forces himself to swallow and progress on. Wasn’t like it was anything to be ashamed of. “I was a foster kid. My parents were both fuckups who landed themselves in jail, so I ended up getting picked up by CPS and being taken away. Went through a shit ton of Homes before I found Ro’s house, you know? Mom and Dad, they were the best. Ro was the best. And after a while, Seth got placed there to and we were all… Brothers, I guess. Best friends living in the same house is what it really felt like. It was great. I remember being happy.”

It was like a dam had broken, and Dean was just spilling out information now. He was so afraid to even look at Punk for fear of what he might see there. He didn’t want pity or sympathy. It just… felt good to give his side of the story, he supposes. Dean continues, “Roman and Seth, they’re birthdays are pretty close together. Like, three days apart. So, they had a combined birthday the first year we were together. And, I dunno. Seth’s real parents had showed up and it fucked with my mind. And I broke down and I ended up running away for two days… I came back, things just… got worse. Ro ended up having to have surgery,” _because of me,_ a voice adds in Dean’s head, “and Seth and I got put into other homes. We tried to keep seeing each other, but when school started, we couldn’t. And _that_ , that really messed with me. I ended up… breaking down. Terribly. Worse than ever. I completely tore my room apart and I had apparently scratched myself to hell and attempted to just destroy anything I could get my hands on. So, Stephanie and Hunter? They decided to do what was best. And that’s keep me away from their kid. I guess they don’t want to take any risks at letting me get too close. Not that I blame them or anything. I’m a fucking nut case.”

He breaks off now, finally managing to get control of his mouth and tell himself to _shut up_. It’s silent for a few moments, Punk not saying a word. It was like the hallway was suddenly dead, but Dean didn’t want to look and see. After a few moments, Punk’s hand had reached out and it rests on Dean’s shoulder. It was a gentle touch and Dean gives a shaking breath before looking up, plastering on a grin to make himself feel better. It worked a bit, but not once he saw that contemplating look on Punk’s face.

“But you miss him,” is what Punk replies with, to all of the things Dean had told him. _I do_ , Dean thinks bitterly, and he thinks it shows on his face. “I know this might be none of my business, but… is there… something going on between you two? Or, would you _want_ there to be something going on between you two?”

Dean is staring at Punk for a long moment as his mind processes what he was being asked. His lips twitch into an awkward, real smile. “Are you asking if I’m gay?” is what comes out of Dean’s mouth. Punk and him stare at each other for a long moment, as if Punk wasn’t willing to expand. “Because I’m not _gay_ , per se. It’s complicated. But you’re right, what’s going on between me and Seth is none of your damn business.”

“No need to get defensive there, Dean-o. AJ’s just mentioned overhearing Nikki and Seth talking about you. She thought I should let you know that the feelings aren’t one-sided.” Then he just _walks away_ , like that wasn’t information that Dean would want to know _more about_. Dean is left there staring after him in shock as Punk rejoins AJ’s side. AJ just gives a small wave, an innocent smile, and they just… _walk away._ This was unreal.

Of course, Dean doesn’t have too much time to be shocked over it before he’s being pulled away for another dance practice. Then, the rest of his week proves to be just as busy.

He never really realized how much practice how to go into dance and he never realized how much preparations had to be made for it. As it turns out, however, after his comment about being willing to show some skin, Cameron and Rosa had made him an outfit that was _absolutely ridiculous_ but it fit perfectly and Dean had said he would show skin. Not to mention that Dean actually absolutely loved it, because they _made it themselves from scratch_. They took time out of their already busy schedules to make Dean something that was comfy and absolutely beautiful. He doesn’t think he could ever thank them enough.

And as much as Dean wanted to talk to Seth about what Punk had said – if only with a passing comment – he doesn’t get the chance the next day. When he gets to American History, Seth wasn’t there and he doesn’t show up. Someone does come in and give Colter a note though. The glance he spares Dean after he reads it tells Dean it must be something about Seth, but Dean doesn’t progress too much further down that path of thought. Debate club was still amazing, even if Paul was away “dealing with some personal issues” as Regal puts. Mr. Colter was filling in for him, which Dean had no problems with whatsoever. He did, however, have a problem with his own curiosity on what personal issues Heyman was having. He had a feeling it was Brock related, but Regal wouldn’t spill anything, no matter how many blunt questions Dean asked. That doesn’t mean that Dean doesn’t end up arguing and bonding with Regal nearly the entire time anyway, with Colter getting his own bonding time in as well. Let it be said that Dean never thought he would like a teacher this much, let alone two of them. Practice with the girls after debate is still just as fun.

Seth was back in American History the next day and actually looked like he was ready to talk to Dean about something, but apparently a rumor was going around that Dean was going to be dancing with the dance team and some random guy had sat next to him to talk to him about it. Dean does offer Seth a smile and a nod though, just to know he acknowledges him. Thursday also means student council, of course, but Paul was out again dealing with those personal issues, so Punk was in charge. The meeting is spent with Punk more or less training Dean to do all of the duties as President, if he ever needed to take control of a meeting when Paul was gone after Punk left. They do get some things done, and Seth ends up coming into the room again, but Punk doesn’t even acknowledge his presence. He just acts like he’s not even there and continues on with the meeting, but Dean doesn’t miss a few well-placed looks from both AJ and Punk throughout. Nikki tried to talk to Dean some after the meeting, but Brie had showed up as soon as Student Council ended and pulled Dean away, because it was the last day that they could practice and it needed to be perfect.

When Friday morning dawns, it’s like Dean is put into hyperactive mode. He can hardly focus on anything as the day passes. Seth ends up sitting by him in American History, but he’s going through the motions of the dance routine in his head that he can’t really remember anything that might have been happening in that class period at all. He ends up going home with Alicia after school so they could practice the dance routine _just one more time_ , but it was too quickly that they found themselves headed towards the school once more.

It was almost nerve-wracking, but it was like the closer they got, the more relaxed Dean became. It was the opposite of what he expected, but soon he was joking with the girls that he was in the car with and they were all grinning. It was almost natural, but then again, Dean always did love performing in front of people. He liked the attention that it got him and he loved knowing that people were _watching him._ He wanted to do something like that. He wanted to go into pro-wrestling and show that he could do so much good.

They arrive about 20 minutes before the game is supposed to start so they are forced to be seated at the bleachers as they wait for the girl’s locker room to clear out. With the cheerleaders in there getting prepped and pepped, they had nowhere to go to get ready for their own performances. Dean told them to go on ahead and get ready, but the told him they weren’t going to leave him behind.

Soon, the football players are making their way to the field. Dean doesn’t hesitate in waving to his two older brothers, who wave back at him. John gives him a bit of a look when he sees that he’s hanging out with the girls again, and mouths “ _Are you dating one of them_?” because there would be _no other reason Dean would be hanging out with them in John’s mind, of course_. Dean shakes his head, rolling his eyes. John just shrugs in a _that’s too bad_ gesture that makes Dean want to hit him for it. He flips the bird at his brother quickly, but fixes the gesture quickly as Stephanie and Hunter make their way past, grinning all at the while at Randy.

“What if we get in trouble?” is what comes out of Brie’s mouth now, her lips twitching down as she looks pointedly at their principal and vice principal before looking back at their group. “What if we get Dean in trouble?”

“Don’t worry about me, doll. The worst they can do is expel me,” he says with a wave of his hand. It doesn’t seem to put any of them at ease now that that worry had been placed in their minds. “Seriously, I’m not worried about it. The route I wanna take doesn’t require education.” Still no easing came from his words, so he doesn’t try again.

Soon, the cheerleaders are exiting the locker rooms and Natalya goes to check to see if it’s empty. A thumbs up has them all moving and sneaking Dean into the room without hesitation. Girls are sneaky creatures, to say the least. It’s a good thing they travelled in packs or else this would have been much harder.

He’s barely into the locker room before he’s being told to start getting ready, and he doesn’t hesitate in slipping into his _clothing_. What Rosa and Cameron had made for him had ended up being a mini skirt and tied crop-top combo. It didn’t cover anything, really. His boxers still showed at the bottom of the skirt and his stomach was on full display, not to mention his fuzzy chest. The girls themselves were dressed in long-sleeved white tops and baggy sweatpants that tended to move with their every movement. They were all also wearing ball caps but still managed to look absolutely stunning.

Dean felt like tonight was going to be increasingly amusing as he thinks about it, then realizes he’s right when Naomi and Natalya sit him down and start working magic on him. He is faced away from the mirror, but there are brushes in his hair, pulling his wild locks into small pigtails, and there are makeup brushes on his face, turning him into what he assumes is a pretty, pretty princess.

“Oh, am I going to get all the boys’ attention?” he asks jokingly as Naomi starts to smear something onto his lips. “I’ve been looking so hard for a boyfriend, you know.”

“Oh, everyone is going to be looking at you tonight,” Naomi assures with a laugh and he can only grin at that. Even if he did end up making a fool out of himself, the past two weeks he spent with the girls have been some fun times. “You’re going to be the star. We really should have thought this through.”

“At least people are actually going to be watching us though. Instead of, you know, going to the concession stand and the bathrooms,” Cameron grumbles, frowning. Dean frowns as well, but Naomi is patting his cheek with a frown of her own.

“We’re not getting down about this. You shouldn’t either,” Naomi tells Dean, and he nods awkwardly, as Natalya is working on his eye make-up now.

They almost didn’t hear the locker room door open, but once they realized what the sound was, it was too late. They all attempt to crowd around Dean to block him from view, but the damage had already been done. In the room stood Seth Helmsley-McMahon and Nikki Bella, both looking thoroughly shocked at the situation they had walked in on.

“Is this why he’s been spending so much time with you guys?!” Nikki is demanding without preamble, already moving to push Brie out of the way to give herself a better look at Dean. “I heard the rumor going around about him being your little secret weapon tonight, but I didn’t know that it was true! What are you _doing_ to him?”

“Making me into the prettiest girl at the prom?” Dean answers, an obvious _duh_ in his tone. “I mean, I feel prettier than I did five minutes away, that’s for sure. I’m sure my cheeks are highlighted perfectly and I’m sure I look _beautiful_. At least, I hope I do. Otherwise, I put my trust into the wrong people.”

“We were never do anything to intentionally embarrass you, Dean. You do that yourself,” Natalya assures him, a smile on her lips as the little protective ring around Dean begins to dissolve begrudgingly. Natalya wastes no time in getting back to his eye make-up. She was very careful, but very precise from what he could feel.

“You’re not going to tell his parents, are you?” Brie asks her sister now, her voice pleading, because they had worked so hard on this.

“You can’t tell his parents,” Alicia states now, shaking her head. “This is the biggest game of the year and we’ve been working on this for weeks. I know you don’t like us, but you have to at least like _him_ a little,” Alicia states, waving at Dean.

“You guys are petty if you think I don’t like you. I don’t have anything against you,” Nikki huffs out. “You guys just decided to pick a side when me and my sister started arguing. Not appreciated, by the way. But we’re not going to tell Stephanie or Hunter. We just saw you guys sneak in here and were wondering why you hadn’t come back out yet.”

“Waiting for half-time,” Dean states cheekily, grinning, only to have Naomi squeeze his cheeks together to get him to stop. “Sorry,” he mutters between his squished lips.

Seth had remained quiet throughout all of this. He seemed a bit confused still, if anything, but Dean remembers what Punk had told him and wonders what was really going through the blond-brunette’s mind. If they were alone – or even if they were just around Nikki – Dean would gather the nerve and ask. But with the entirety of the dance team around, he just doesn’t think it’s all that good of an idea.

He does, however, speak to Seth a bit later, when Naomi finishes with his lip make-up and Alicia is coming to check over everything, Natalya finishing up as well. “How do I look, Princess?” He asks, unable to stop himself from grinning when the other male actually responds to the nickname.

“Like the prettiest girl at the prom,” Seth replies, if only to appease Dean, who preens happily at the other’s words. It causes a smile to cross the blond-brunette’s face as well, Dean feeling warm when he watches the other fondly shake his head, like he can’t believe this is happening.

It wasn’t much long afterwards that Nikki and Seth are moving to sneak out again, Nikki promising to take video of the performance and Seth promising to take photos. When they leave, the girls go into overdrive in making sure they all look perfect, and continue to work away some at Dean. When he hears the commentators announcing halftime, he finally asks if he can see himself.

When he turns and faces the mirror, he is stunned by the look of himself. It’s not like they decided to go all out and make him look like he was wearing a ton of makeup. Sure, his eyes were popping with the makeup that had been applied, his lips were slightly redder than usual and sparkling, his cheeks were pink and glittery, but he still looked… natural. He had to thank them for that. His hair was pretty cute too.

As they carefully put the ballcap onto Dean, they all pull on the trench coats that they had planned to use so no one got a look at Dean too early. They all walk out, Dean with his head bowed so no one could see him, flocked in the middle of all of the girls as they walk out. The dance instructor was actually there, looking nervous over the fact that they hadn’t been there yet. Alicia is taking a moment to assure her everything was okay, they had it all planned. All they needed were for the songs to be played.

They make their way out to the field and they walk into their formation, Dean already hearing the murmurings that sounded like they included his name more than once. He keeps his head down, knowing exactly what he must do as soon as the music starts playing. It’s only a few more moments before the first few beats start playing. The bad thing is about all of this is that the dance instructor had chosen both of the songs, but they had made their own dances to them. Both songs were mashups, the first being a mashup _Problem_ by Adriana Grande and _Fancy_ by Iggy Azalea.

As soon as the first two notes start, they’re all moving, in a very _robotic_ manner, if you will, their bodies entirely in sync however. Dean is moving freely, listening to the murmuring that can still slightly be heard over the music. The caps are the first things to come off, coming off before the words were even spoken. The crowd’s murmuring got louder, probably at the sight of Dean’s hair, but he really doesn’t give a fuck. His head is still bowed, as he knows all the other girls’ heads are. All their hands move to their trench coats and as song as the lyrics start, they’re thrown off.

The stands absolutely erupt, especially when they all start moving, removing their trench coats as the song progresses and Dean’s outfit is put on full display. He can see people pointing at them, a lot of them laughing, a lot of them just looking plain shocked, and a smile works its way onto his face becaue he _loves the attention_ , as much as he hates to admit it. It makes him feel alive, makes him strive, makes him want to do more.

The motions are almost second nature to him now. They all move beautifully together as the notes of the music blend together until he can’t really hear them anymore, especially over the songs of the people, but they still manage to keep in perfect sync.

When the first mix ends, it transfers over immediately to the other mashup of _Shake it Off_ by Taylor Swift and _All About That Bass_ by Meghan Trainer. And the thing about that is there _is absolutely no pause between the end and the beginning_. The lyrics start and they just transition over perfectly because they had practiced their _asses off_.

Still, though, no one had yet to come over and try to get Dean off the field. So maybe all of the worries they had about getting him in trouble _had_ in fact been for nothing. The thought has him smiling even further. As the second song falls away into the past as well, the bleachers explode into applause of awe, even if some of the people are still laughing.

The football had come back out at some point and Dean can see Roman and John more or less holding onto each other as they were laughing themselves into stitches. All of the team were clapping though; some of the opposing team were clapping too. It was exhilarating. A lot of students were running up to the fences with camera as the dance team starts to move, but one of them really caught Dean’s attention.

“Just a few pictures, Dean!” The kid was more or less pleading, but there was the ringing of laughter in his voice. He was a bleach blond kid, Ziggler or something. He had also seen him hanging around Erick.

“Oh, what the hell!” Dean says with a laugh, dropping to his knees in the middle of the field and throwing up two peace signs, sticking his tongue out as he poses. The girls on the dance team erupt into giggles as Ziggler takes a few photos, then waves for the girls to join in on it.

“C’mon, dance team photos! This year’s yearbook is going to be amazing if I have any say in this!” Ziggler is crowing and Dean can’t help but laugh as his heart soars. He can’t believe this is happening. He can’t believe it worked out just as well as they hoped it would.

Soon, though, all of them are ushered off the field by Jim Ross, the coach of the team, but he is giving Dean a bit of a smile, like he had found the whole ordeal funny as well. Brie is immediately rushing over to Nikki to see if she had gotten the video, but Seth was missing, and Nikki didn’t seem too happy about something. She spoke to her sister in a low tone, her eyes glancing over to Dean every other moment, and Dean suddenly just had this bad feeling in his gut. The bad feeling, however, is curbed, when Roman and John are both suddenly there and hugging him – football uniforms and all – and effectively crushing him.

“That’s what you’ve been planning this entire time?” John is asking, the laughter still alight in his voice as he pulls back to look at Dean. Dean can see the streaks of tears that had been rolling down his cheeks from his laughter. “My _god_ , Dean, how am I supposed to win this when I can’t even _breathe_?” Dean would have felt bad about that if he hadn’t known Dean was joking. He was smiling at him and there was no trace of distrust in his eyes for once. For once, there was just unthreatened happiness.

Roman was no different. No, Roman was _brighter_ , he was smiling and still laughing, tugging at one of Dean’s pigtails and proceeding to laugh even harder. “God, I’m just glad you’re a good dancer. If you hadn’t been able to keep up with them as well as you had, I wouldn’t even be able to get back on the field. I’m not going to be able to look at you straight for _weeks_.”

“As if you looked at me straight in the first place anyway,” Dean croons cheekily, causing for John and Roman to both erupt into giggles once more. “C’mon, let me just give you a nice kiss here Romie~” He puckers his lips and moves towards Roman, making disgusting kissy noises.

“Oh no you don’t!” Roman declines, laughing all the while as he bounces back, John hopping back as well. “You’re going to get that all over me!”

“That’s kind of the point, boy scout!” Dean laughs back, but Roman and John have to break away quickly when Coach Ross is calling for them, both of them still laughing. Dean doesn’t really feeling this happy in forever. He really doesn’t.

He decides it’s as good of a time as any to go towards his parents, so he turns and scans the area for Mom, Dad, Padre, or Madre. He finds them all clumped together, Maria struggling in Mom’s arms. As soon as she realizes Dean is looking their way, she is immediately calling out his name, making grabby hands at him.

He doesn’t even notice the grave faces of his parents as he no less than sprints forward to take his baby sister from Mom, cooing at her as he does, comparing their pigtails and laughing as she squeals happily. He doesn’t notice their grave faces until he turns to look at his Mom and Dad to talk about how Roman can’t stop laughing. When he sees them, the words die on his lips.

He doesn’t know why he was so surprised to see them, considering what just happened, and the absence of Seth Helmsley-McMahon. He doesn’t know why he feels like it comes as such a big shock to find out the consequences of his actions.

As it goes, Dean had been suspended until further notice.

He guesses happiness just always has to come at a price.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are nice <3


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a day late, but 10k words. I'm on vacation and yesterday was the last day we had to do things. While I was vacationing in Daytona Beach, I am now in Cartersville, GA for the night. Hope you guys like this chapter~!

So, you probably think that because Dean got suspended that he’s going to descend into his depersonalized stupor, right? Because, you know, being suspended certainly put a bit of a damper on the whole thing, doesn’t it? The answer to both questions is a simple _no_ if you were to ask Dean. In fact, he is actually still happier than he has been in a while, even if he is forced to sit near his family as the football game rolls to an end. He felt like he was on top of the world; he felt warm and like he was the King. More than once, people came and asked for a picture with him and he _couldn’t say no_.  Saying no would just be _rude._ He has absolutely no idea how many photos of him are going to end up on Facebook later, but he’ll ask Ro if he remembers, that’s for sure.

Honestly though, one of the best parts about all of this is almost every time he looked down at the field and spotted Roman or John, they would be near each other and laughing. The worst part, expectedly, is the fact that Madre and Padre are rather pissed off at him. They hadn’t even looked at him thus far, keeping their eyes trained at the field as if they thought it would make him feel bad. It just made him feel all that much better, as bad as that sounds. At least they weren’t going to make a scene. He kept Maria cuddled on his lap when no one was around asking for pictures, laughing every time she would pull on his pigtails and tell him he looked pretty.

When the game is over and _Vamoose_ won, John and Roman are immediately coming over with big grins on their faces as they look at Dean, Dean just grinning back all the while. Roman and John’s grins disappeared quickly, though, as soon as they find out the news. Roman looks enraged before the full news was even out, a dark look crossing his face that has Maria clinging to Dean in a touch of fear. Dean can’t blame her. The first time he saw Roman truly angry, Dean was absolutely terrified. John, however, just looked… disappointed, but not surprised. Much like Dean had been, he had probably been expecting this. He made a short comment of being back soon before stalking off towards the bathrooms where a large group of celebrating players were disappearing.

Roman gently takes Maria from Dean as soon as his expression clears, kissing her temple to show her he wasn’t going to hurt her or anything. She is hesitant as she looks right at Dean, silently asking if it was okay. Dean gives her a reassuring smile, relieved to see her hand delve into Ro’s tangled hair after she takes in Dean’s smile. He beams wider as Maria tilts her head against Roman’s, patting his cheek with her free hand. The last thing he needed was for Maria to be scared of Roman because the elder brother had been furious about a situation Dean had caused.

Frustratingly but expectedly, Dean is denied his request to go home with Roman when Mom and Dad start packing up all of their things, Mom taking Maria from Roman so he could go get changed. It had been a small comment of ‘Hey, maybe I can come over tonight to celebrate’ on Dean’s part and a snapped response of ‘Absolutely not!’ from Madre almost immediately afterwards. The look Mom gives him when he open his mouth silences him; a look that told him not to argue it right now.

Roman, John, and Randy all end up coming out together, Roman’s expression once again stormy as he embraces Dean, whispering so no one could here for Dean to call him if he has any trouble. Roman knows how difficult Madre and Padre could be. Dean is nodding and kissing his brother’s cheekbone as he pulls away. Dean is then bouncing towards Maria, cooing at her and kissing both of her cheeks as she squeals. Mom and Dad both give Dean a hug, Mom giving a strict request to behave himself. He nods again, backing away and giving a gentle kiss to her cheek as well.

“I’m going to be going out with Randy and his friends,” John tells his parents, who nod slowly. “Shouldn’t be out too long, we’re just going to celebrate the last win of the season,” he says this part to Dean, who just shrugs nonchalantly, cooing at Maria who is looking at them as Mom and Dad head towards the parking lot. John looks like he wants to say something else, but Dean doesn’t look at him directly again. Last thing he needs is for all of the Cenas to be breathing down his neck over this, never mind the fact that he himself is technically a Cena.

Dean watches John pack into his car with Randy and two of Randy’s friends, Cody and Ted while Madre and Padre lead the way to the car in complete silence. Pleasantly enough, this is also how the ride is spent. Absolutely nothing is said between them, the radio off through the whole trip. In fact, nothing is said until they get into the house and Dean is heading upstairs to change into his regular clothes. Even then, he is only stopped with a firmly spoken, “Dean.” From there, he was sat down and the lecture he knew was coming begins.

The main thing that Dean can really get from this lecture is they didn’t understand, which isn’t surprising to Dean. Nothing against Madre and Padre, but they didn’t always try to understand the things that Dean did. What they didn’t understand in this case is why Dean would _ever do something like he did tonight_. They didn’t understand why he would, more or less, prod the sleeping bear. They would ask him _why_ and they would demand answers, but then they would just keep talking, their voices raising if Dean even tried to open his mouth to explain. Because Dean could. Dean could give them an explanation for everything.

But that didn’t really matter to them, Dean had learned easily over the years. Madre and Padre, they weren’t bad people, and they weren’t bad parents, but they were far from being the type of parents that Dean needed. They loved Dean, but Dean had realized he would never be on the same level as John to them. No, Dean was a commitment they took on too early, too soon to know what it would truly entail. The worst part is they made it obvious that it was something they didn’t fully think through without meaning to. They tried to keep him under control, but they put pressure on him before he even did anything. Then they wouldn’t let him explain himself when he actually _did_ do something. With John, they never tried to control him because they didn’t think they needed to, and when he did do something, they let him explain himself.

Some might think that Dean is just jealous of his big brother. In truth, Dean was far from jealous. He was just more or less purely miserable that he was a Cena and not a Reigns. At least Mom and Dad and Roman knew how to handle Dean.

But right now, he was with Madre and Padre and they _just keep talking_. They just keep talking and lecturing and Dean can’t explain himself, because they didn’t want to hear it. “I-“ Dean tries, once again, but their voices raise once more. He clenches his fist, ducking his head. The obvious thing that sticks out in them not letting him talk is they didn’t trust him. They didn’t trust anything that he said because he wasn’t their precious _John_ and he doesn’t have anything to say that’s important. They keep asking why, but they don’t want an answer. They don’t want something to apologize for.

He doesn’t realize that he’s shaking until they demand his cell phone and he hands it over. Once he does realize, however, it’s all he can see. He didn’t realize how much stress was actually in his system until he’s staring at his shaking hands, feeling that stress creeping up the back of his neck. They tell him he’s grounded, Madre and Padre do. They tell him he’s not allowed to talk to anyone until they get this sorted out. All he asks is if he can call Ro and let him know. They tell him he has two minutes.

He’s dialing Roman’s number without really thinking, focusing too hard in keeping the shaking out of his hands and almost laughing because it’s useless. They just kept shaking, but he manages to dial the right numbers and he manages to keep the receiver to his ear. He breathes slowly when he hears the ringing stop after the second ring and Roman’s voice rings out with a “Hello?”

Dean doesn’t know how long he was silent as he stares at his tremoring hand, still breathing slowly as he tries to think of something to say. What could he possibly say that would actually make Roman understand how angry Madre and Padre were with him when he only had two minutes? “Hello?” Roman repeats again, obviously anxious. “Dean?”

“I can’t stop shaking,” he whispers, his voice barely audible, even to his own ears. His clenches his hand into a fist and brings it to his forehead as he suddenly feels a hysteric laugh bubble up his throat, sounding in the silent kitchen. “I can’t stop shaking,” he repeats, the ticking of the clock ringing loud in his ears.

“Need me to come pick you up?” Roman asks, and by the sound of it, he’s already up and moving, picking up his keys. “I can be there in ten minutes if you need me to be, De. Just give me the word and I’ll be there.”

“Please,” Dean murmurs, looking at the kitchen door and waiting for his parents to come in and tell him his time is up. It’s almost like prison, this is. Maybe that’s where the idea of grounding came from. Or maybe grounding is where the idea of prison came from. Dean ponders this as he hears Roman tell his parents he’d be back soon, cooing a goodbye to Maria. “I have to go,” Dean whispers after a moment, having heard one of his parents get up from their chair.

“I’ll be there soon. Just be ready,” Roman tells him, with no questions asked. Dean hangs up, giving just a split moment to compose himself before he’s briskly moving past his father who had been coming to tell him to get off the phone and up the stairs.

He changes into something comfortable, pulling on a hoodie that had been Roman’s that was too big on him now and still swallowed Dean – Roman had been a bigger kid in middle school before puberty hit him full force and let him drop over 20 pounds, but he had gained it back in muscle. He sits in his room, looking out his window and taking in the silence of the house. It was nearly a little past eleven o’clock when Roman is pulling down the street.

Dean goes into action quickly, grabbing his backpack that was always packed to go to Roman’s and sprinting down the stairs like the house was on fire. His parents were in the kitchen, each with a glass of wine in their hands, and were startled as he barrels past the kitchen entrance and is throwing open the front door. He’s out the screen door of the house before they can even stand.

Roman is walking towards Dean’s house when Dean rockets himself into Roman’s arms as if Roman was the only thing that could save him. It wasn’t fair from the truth. Roman holds him in a tight embrace and Dean plasters himself to his brother and holds on. He can practically feel the heat of Roman’s gaze over his shoulder, knowing his parents are at the screen door. He can only guess what they wanted to say to him, or Roman, or both. Dean knows just how often it was that when one of them got in trouble, the other wasn’t far behind trying to get him out.

“I just wanna go home,” Dean is whispering into Roman’s shoulder, even though he knows Roman doesn’t need a reason for Dean to come over. The Reigns would always welcome Dean home again, as if he was their own. As if he had never left their family in the first place. He just hates that he keeps dragging them into his family drama with Madre and Padre.

“Get in the car,” he murmurs to Dean, and Dean doesn’t need to be told twice. He’s half-jogging to the passenger side and slipping in without looking back, or looking up.

He doesn’t know just how long Roman is out there but Dean hears the muffled sound of voices, both Roman’s and his parents’. He feels like he should be out there too, trying to explain himself, because he knew this had been the wrong thing to do. To call Roman and asking him to pick him up without telling his parents; to sprint out of the house without even saying anything. Like he said, the Cenas weren’t bad people. They just didn’t know how to deal with someone like Dean.

When Roman gets into the car, his expression is cold, but he smiles when he notices Dean is looking at him. Dean chances a glance at Madre and Padre to find them both red in the face, both looking rather angry. He looks down again when Roman backs out of the driveway. The drive, however, is not silent by any means. Roman is telling Dean, play-by-play, what happened in the first half of the game, and how everyone was extremely excited for the beginnings of playoff that would be coming in the first week of November. Dean listens and grins, feeling more than a little happy that Roman wasn’t demanding answers immediately from Dean.

When they get to Roman’s, they settle Dean into the guest room with no questions asked still, and Momma is already telling him to come have a muffin and some hot chocolate. Maria is already asleep, or else Dean would be having a bit of extra loving, but he didn’t want to wake the little girl up just to have someone to cuddle. That’s what Roman was for, after all.

So, plopped together on the couch with a blueberry muffin in hand and hot chocolate on the table beside him, Dean actually finds that his hands had stopped shaking and he was laughing at something Roman was saying. He felt warm and happy and on top of the world all over again, pressed tight against Roman’s side and looking at the television where wrestling was flickering across the screen.

Dean doesn’t know why he didn’t expect for the party to be broken up quickly, really. But when there’s a knock on the door and Momma is going to let whoever it is in, Dean is more surprised to see that it’s John and Randy than he is to see someone had come for him.

“You okay?” is the first thing that’s out of John’s mouth when he sees Dean, because John was the one of the family that understood Dean the most. He understood that Dean had his moments, but it didn’t make him a ticking time bomb. It was probably from all of the time spent with Roman, hearing the things that Roman had to say, and Dean was grateful that they hung out. Dean offers a small nod, but presses closer to Roman, who shifts to accommodate it. “Want to tell me your side of the story?”

Dean wasn’t used to that. He wasn’t used to people actually wanting to hear his side of the story. He does, however, start spouting off his side of the story. “They wouldn’t let me talk,” he breaths out softly, already moving away from Roman to give himself the breathing room he knew he would need. “We got home and I was going to change and they just. Sat me down and started their fucking lecturing. Just like always, just like they always do with me. They talked and talked, and they wanted to know _why_ , John. But they didn’t let me talk. They never let me _talk_. From the moment they decided I was old enough to know better, they decided that if I did something wrong, I would never have a good reason behind it and they don’t let me _speak_.

“They don’t treat me like they treat you, John. I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but they don’t. They treat me like I’m lower to you. Like, because I’m not their blood and because I’m such a fucking nutcase, that I’m just _not good enough for that Cena standard._ Or maybe they just are trying to make me to be just like you, but it’s not going to happen. God, I’m so _fucking tired of being treated like I’m a danger around you guys_. I’m sorry I’m not perfect, All-American good boy like you. All they did is lecture me and talk over me and ask me _why_ without letting me answer. All they did is project all their fucking stress on me like I can handle it. I’m fifteen, not fifty. I’m supposed to make my mistakes while I can. And I-I started shaking and they took my phone and told me I couldn’t talk to anyone, and I called Ro and I told him to come pick me up.”

“I offered,” Ro corrects, out of all of that. That’s all he corrects. He is looking right at John though, with a certain bitterness to his own eyes, like he wishes that surgery hadn’t happened all those years ago. Like he wishes Dean was adopted into his family, where Mom and Dad treat him like he was blood even if he wasn’t even from the same descent. “C’mere, baby boy.” Roman’s pulling Dean to him, and Dean realizes that he himself was crying. Warm salt drops are rolling down his cheeks and he allows himself to be pulled, burying himself into the security blanket of his brother. “I got you.”

“Always do,” Dean murmurs, hiding his face miserably into Roman’s shoulder. How embarrassing. Crying in front of a Helmsley-McMahon; the same Helmsley-McMahon who had punched him in the face about a month and a half ago.

“This is going to sound awful of me,” John starts out, and Dean feels Roman tense some, “But I have noticed. I just. I don’t know how to mention it to them. Because they mean well, Dean. We both know they do. And even back then, to adopt you? It was a big step for them. And they love you, that’s why they’re so hard on you. But they’re overreacting about all of this. They’re pissed off that you got in trouble again, and rightfully so, but they’re still overreacting. They know how you are. They know that you… You are different. And they don’t know how to handle you. I’ll talk to them about it.”

Dean doesn’t reply and it’s eerily silent for a few moments, before Randy is speaking. “My parents are overreacting too,” he tells. It seems to shock everyone. It shocks Dean enough to look up and right at the Helmsley-McMahon. Randy’s arms are crossed over his chest in a defensive manner, but he was looking right back at Dean. “What you did? Hilarious. It was great, man. Honestly. It showed a side of you that no knew really knew existed. It made people realize that you’re not just…” he waves his hand absently now, obviously searching for a word.

“A fucking psycho?” Dean offers, noting his how bitter and rough his voice still sounded, even to his own ears. Randy didn't respond to his words, he just continued on.

“Seth’s actually really pissed off about all of this. Dad called to ask me to try and text him. Apparently, they had a screaming match before he just called Nikki and left.” Sounds a lot like Dean’s situation actually. He was just glad his side didn’t involve screaming. “He wouldn’t answer my texts either though.”

“Why’re you telling me this?” Dean questions softly, his eyes searching Randy’s, the gray not seeming like the cold steel they had on Dean’s first day, when that punch Dean mentioned earlier had happened. When anger had gotten the better of both of them. His eyes seemed warm now; warmer, at least. Dezn supposes those anger management classes were working wonders.

Randy offers a mute shrug. Dean half-thought that would be all that he would get out of the tanned male. “Because I know you care,” Randy adds to the shrug. “And I know you and him are kind of friends again. I hear him and Nikki talking about you some.”

Dean narrows his eyes at Randy, wondering if he was just pulling his leg, but would he really have reason to do that? “I’ll try to text him, just to make sure he’s okay…” is what Dean hears next, from Roman, who is shifting enough to pull his phone out of his pocket.

Dean doesn’t hesitate in plucking it out of his hands though. “I’ll try,” he tells his brother, who doesn’t even try to argue. Dean is slow with the process, but he manages to open a text message to Seth, and types slowly, because he just wasn’t used to smart phones, okay?

 _Hey seth its dean randy came by ros with john and said that you had an argument with your folks and that you weren’t responding so I thought I would give it a shot hope you’re okay_ , is what Dean ends up texting, not even caring about the lack of punctuation or capitalization. He stares at the little blue bubble for a good five seconds, not even thinking about giving it back to Roman when a little _“Read 12:05AM_ ” pops up and a small gray bubble with a “…” in it starts showing. Dean finds himself staring at it until the reply pops up.

 _I’m fine. I just got really aggravate with my parents and I didn’t want to deal with them anymore. I thought you would end up blaming me for all of this and it made me upset because we were getting on such good terms. Thinking they ruined that made my blood boil. I’m fine now, though. Are you okay_? is what the reply reads. Dean is left staring at it for a moment, because it had been less than a minute since Dean had even sent the message that had taken him a good two minutes to write. He didn’t want Seth to think he was mad at him because he took too long to respond.

He stands without thinking, tapping on Seth’s contact and then on his number, pressing the phone to his ear. He heads towards the kitchen and to the back door. It’s three rings when he goes through the door to the chilly backyard air. He doesn’t think Seth is going to answer and he’s ready to leave a message when the ringing stops.

“H-Hello?” Seth’s voice answers, uncertainly. His voice sounds stuffed and shaky, like he’s been crying and upset. It doesn’t sit well with Dean at all.

“Hey Princess,” Dean’s voice rumbles out, trying to keep down, for some reason not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation. “I would have just texted back, but I am shit at texting. Like, that message I sent you took me at least two minutes to type, and I didn’t want you thinking I was mad at you.”

“Oh,” Seth breaths out, his voice more breathless than shaky now, which makes Dean’s lips twitch up when a voice in his head supplies the thought of _I did that to him_. “Are you okay?”

Dean ponders the question as he sits down on the back porch, pulling out his carton of cigarettes out of his hoodie pocket. “I’m okay,” he allows. “Madre and Padre are pissed at me for getting suspended again and I’m supposed to be grounded, but Ro came and got me.”

“Sounds like we’re in the same boat,” Seth murmurs, and Dean thinks he hears a door close as he puts a cigarette between his lips, taking a moment to light it. “I’m sorry you’re getting so much shit.”

“Not your fault, Princess. Nothing you should be sorry about. You didn’t tell on us to Mommy and Daddy or anything,” Dean assures, lips clumsy on the cylinder in his mouth before he’s taking a drag. His system practically screams in relief. It had been so long since he last had a smoke. He had been so busy the past few weeks that he just hadn’t had the time. It was so nice to feel that relief again. He hadn’t realized how badly his body had been craving nicotine until now.

“No, but you’re the only one getting in trouble. Brie feels like shit about it. She said that it was all their idea, but they weren’t getting in trouble. Which is complete bullshit, by the way.” It was almost cute, how disgruntled Seth actually sounded about all of this.

“I’m actually glad that they’re not getting in trouble. They don’t deserve it. I knew what this would mean and what could potentially happy, especially when your parents hate me so much, but I did it anyway. And I made a lot of good friends in the process. I’m more than glad that I got this experience and I’m the only one that got hurt in the process,” Dean tells him honestly, listening to Seth’s breaths in the silence that follows.

“You did really good,” is what Seth says next, changing the subject. “Entertained a lot of people. Where’d you learn to move like that?”

Dean laughs, taking another deep breath. “I’ve always been known to wiggle around and stuff. Ro teases me for it, but it really helped out when it came to these two weeks of practicing with the girls.”

Seth gives a soft hum. Dean can practically see him. Maybe he was sitting outside, just like Dean. Staring out into the Bella’s yard or looking up at the night sky. Thinking about what Dean was saying or just thinking. “Is Ro doing okay?”

Dean takes another deep drag with a shaky inhale, hunching his shoulders some. He wasn’t really sure. God, he was a terrible brother. “As okay as he can be, I guess. What with a new sister in the household and a little brother who just keeps causing more trouble. Mom and Dad have always been good at keeping a lot of the pressure off of him, though. Especially since the surgery.” He pauses. “Mom and Dad referring to Patricia and Sika.”

“Is that how you decipher them?” is Seth’s next question. “’Mom’ and ‘Dad’ are Ro’s parents and ‘Madre’ and ‘Padre’ are yours?”

Dean didn’t like the way that question was worded. He didn’t like it being split into _his parents_ and _Ro’s parents_ , because Mom and Dad were his parents too. “It’s… It’s not like that, completely. It’s difficult. Like, like… Ro’s parents are my parents too,” he tells Seth, repeating what he had been thinking, “It’s never really stopped in my mind, thinking of Patricia and Sika as Mom and Dad. Nothing against Madre and Padre or anything, but if I had to choose…” He goes silent, hoping that maybe Seth would say something, but he doesn’t. “Madre and Padre don’t know how to handle me. I’m a threat to them just like I’m a threat to your parents, but I’m… I’m _not_.”

“You’re not,” Seth agrees softly, “You never have been.” There’s something weird in his voice, like he’s remembering something that he hadn’t allowed himself to remember in a long time. “You’ve never been a threat.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Dean murmurs, taking another large drag of his cigarette, finishing it off and sticking the butt in the ashtray to his side. “I’m definitely a danger sometimes. But… But I’m a controllable danger, you know?”

Dean can almost hear Seth nodding as he replies with, “Ro does well at keeping you under control. It’s like… One touch and you’re okay.”

“Yeah,” Dean whispers, staring out into the yard. “I trust Ro. I trust Ro with a lot. My life, in fact, but that’s not much.” Bitter laughter. God, why is he so bitter?

Seth is quiet once more, for a few minutes. Dean’s able to light a cigarette and finish half of it before Seth is talking. “I-I know you’re having a shitty night and stuff, but… but there’s something that I’ve been dying to know for years now. And that’s… That’s _what happened_?” It’s just like _why_ , that question is. But Seth’s voice is raspy and rough, shaky. “I-I asked Mom and Dad a lot when I was younger, but they never gave me a straight answer, and I never got to ask you.”

“You want to know what happened?” Dean repeats, staring up at the sky as he feels his chest ache, but he’s not sure if it’s his lungs or his heart or both. “I want to tell you, but I-I don’t know how accurate I can tell you. I went through so much therapy, Seth. So much fucking therapy. I don’t know what happened and what they put in my head anymore, no matter how many times Roman tells me. But at the same time, it fucking haunts me. It’s like I know everything that happened, but it’s through someone else’s eyes that I keep seeing it.”

“Try?” Seth whispers, his voice begging, “I need to know your side of the story, Dean. I-…” he breaks off, and Dean thinks he hears the slightest hiccup come from the other line. “Mom and Dad tried to protect me but I don’t know what really happened and I can’t stand it.”

Dean honestly can’t begin to imagine how much worse it probably felt, being on that other side and not knowing anything, instead of being on his side and knowing everything. “Okay,” Dean breathes, “But… But you have to just let me speak, okay?” Seth is silent, and Dean takes it as an acceptance. “Fuck, it sounds so… so fucking bad looking back on it,” he murmurs with a laugh that lacks mirth as he tries his best to remember. “And I’m apologizing beforehand for it. And I’ll live my life dealing with this fucking guilt because little six year old me fucked up.”

“Dean,” is all Seth says, like that’s all he can begin to think to say. Dean swallows and finishes off his second cigarette, putting the butt in the ashtray with the other.

“I… I guess I should start at the birthday party, right?” Dean murmurs, forcing himself to remember events from nearly 10 years ago. “You and Roman were celebrating, and there were so many kids around because both of you little assholes have always been amazing at making friends. So, I was sitting over by the fence, at one of the tables, trying to stay out of the way. Because you guys… You always dealt with me, you know? And I wanted you guys to enjoy your party. But…” Dean pauses, closing his eyes, placing himself into that memory. “There’s… two sets of parents to my left, talking about me. One of them is saying that I must be shy since I wasn’t playing with the other kids. Another says it’s Middle Child Syndrome.”

He’s getting too deep in depth with this, even though he really did want to remember everything. It was best to just stick to simple facts right now. Just because Dean used to know these events like the back of his hand didn’t mean Seth did. Hell, he didn’t know anything about those events, that’s why Dean was telling him now.

“Which is bullshit,” Dean adds now, “because Mom and Dad, they never treated us any different. We were all level. We were the Three Musketeers, you knows?” He opens his eyes, pulling out a third cigarette and lighting it. “At the time, though, I felt extremely selfish, like even though I was sticking out of the party to try and keep from pulling attention from you and Ro, I still was. Then one of you would look over at me with this bright smile, and I would smile back, because you guys were all I had. All I needed.” Deep inhale of his cigarette, his hands shaking some. He focuses on making it stop, but continues on. “Next thing I know, I see you… darting across the yard with this… _elation_ on your face, man. I had never seen you look that happy. I wanted to know how to make you look like that every day, then… then I saw your parents. Your real parents.” His breath hitches, eyes closing against his will, remembering that moment. “I… Fuck. I remember realizing just how _fake_ our family was, you know?”

“Dean,” comes that soft voice again, a sad whimper to that voice that Dean found himself grateful to hear again. That’s all Seth says though, giving Dean that floor, letting Dean speak.

“It was… It got in my head, but I was so scared of making a scene, so I just…” he chokes out a laugh as he takes a jerky inhale of smoke. “I decided I was gonna go clear my mind. Go for a walk and come back and play it off like I had been in the bathroom if anyone asked. So, I snuck out the gate and my head got messy. I ran after that. I just ran and I took a turn too many to find my way home and I just… housed myself in a tree, sure I would go to a different home when I was found. But you guys found me, and you took me home, and you dealt with me not talking to you, right? I remember being so scared, because I thought at any moment the same people that took me away from my mom’s would be back.”

“You tried to call your mom,” Seth recalls suddenly, sounding like it was shocking for him to even remember. “Ro’s parents, they told me and Ro to just… give you some time. That you wanted to talk to your mom. Explained to us the morning after Ro carried you upstairs that you felt homesick. I-I didn’t believe ‘em. Not even back then. I-I knew something more was going on.”

Dean doesn’t realize how quickly his tears are forming until he’s blinded by them, blinking once, then clenching his eyes shut. “She didn’t give a damn about me,” he gasps out against his will. “I called her and I wanted to hear her voice and know she was okay, because she was my mom, you know? Far from being the best, but she… She had given me a roof, you know? But-But she never asked about me. She never cared, which just made everything worse. Because I never had a family that cared before you and Ro and Mom and Dad and I knew it wouldn’t last. It killed me, knowing I was going to lose the only family I ever really had. It’s like I _jinxed it_ , especially when Ro went into surgery and we got split up. God, it was all my fault, Seth. It was all my fault and I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I ruined our family and I’m sorry I’m the one that got Ro, and I’m sorry I didn’t try harder. I’m sorry.”

“Stop,” Seth begs him, his voice broken, like Dean’s. They were so _similar_ , Dean realizes. It was like they had been tuned to each other back then, and it was no different now. “Stop blaming yourself, Dean. We were kids…” He sniffles, exhaling a shaky breath that begins a hiccup at the end. “Tell me why I couldn’t see you anymore. I- That’s what I need to know the most. I need to know why Mom and Dad said I couldn’t see you anymore.”

“I-I got locked up,” Dean whispers, giving a tinkling laughter that sounded mocking to his own ears. “I was just like the rest of my family and I got locked up in solitary confinement because I had a breakdown and I-I destroyed _everything_ , Seth. My room. Myself. I… I remember realizing I hadn’t seen you in over a month and I remember missing you. I remember hoping you were okay, then remembering that you were all alone with a stranger for a brother and you hadn’t been able to talk to me and Ro… and then I remember waking up in a psych ward. When I got home, I remember seeing Ro and practically begging everyone to tell me where my baby brother was. Momma was the one that told me that your parents thought it would be better if we didn’t see each other anymore…”

Dean finally makes himself go silent, sucking on the butt of his third cigarette in hope of getting more from it, because he would go through his pack if he wasn’t careful. He flicks the used cylinder into the ashtray when he realizes it was no good to keep trying.

“You were just a kid,” Seth murmurs, sounding bitter, tears still thick in his voice. “And I-I hated you for so long because of it. I remember asking Mom and demanding an answer, when John and Randy ended up on the football team and I remember seeing you in the stands with Ro.  I remember asking why you and Ro didn’t look at me, why you didn’t want to be my friend anymore. And she told me, _it’s not you, Seth. Dean just did some bad things and you deserve better_. It didn’t explain Ro, but it explained you, and I remember hating you for my entire 7 th grade year and part of my 8th, until I cornered Ro and asked why he was still talking to you, when you didn’t deserve to have friends when you had done something so wrong. He-He just gave me this _look_. He had this small smile on his face and asked me what I thought you had done exactly. And I didn’t have an answer. All he told me was, _‘Dean’s only fault is having no sense of self-preservation,’_ then he just walks away.” Seth gives his own mirthless laugh.

Dean pulls out a fourth cigarette despite his battle against himself not to. He lights it and is shaking when he hears the door behind him open. He looks behind him, seeing John standing there, giving him a bit of a pitying look that makes Dean want to punch him in the face. “I’m not going,” Dean tells him, Seth giving a soft ‘ _what?_ ’ in Dean’s ear. “You can tell Madre and Padre that if you want. But I’m not going home.”

“I’m not asking if you want to come home. I’m just telling you I’m leaving,” John responds, giving a small shrug. “I’ll come by after school on Monday and tell you how everything’s going without you.”

“Oh, joy, thanks,” Dean states bitterly, staring at John. “But as much as I want to talk to you, I’m on the phone.”

“Yeah, I see that.” Still calm, still collect. “Mrs. Reigns asked me to ask you to come inside and stop smoking so much.”

Dean tries to think of something snarky to say about that, but he feels uncomfortable trying to defy Mom. “I’m going to finish this cigarette,” he bargains, even though Mom wasn’t there. “Drive home safe, Kent.”

“Always do, Mr. Wayne,” John plays along, a look of relief staining his features before Dean turns to look out the yard. It’s a few seconds before he hears the footsteps walking away.

“Should I let you go?” Seth asks as Dean does his best to finish off his cigarette quickly. Dean doesn’t like the way that Seth words these questions. They all sound sad or terrible.

“No,” Dean answers simply, putting out the cigarette with a fourth of it left, “No, I… I like being able to talk to you.”

“Oh,” Seth mumbles, sounding embarrassed. “I like being able to talk to you, too.”

So, that’s how Dean ends up talking to Seth until four in the morning, about everything and nothing at once. He ends up putting Roman’s phone on charge around two in the morning, glad it was a Saturday and not a school day where Ro would need it. They talk about school and their families; their friends and their classmates; their favorite colors and foods they hate; and most importantly to Dean, they talk about wrestling. They only stop talking at four because Seth stops replying and Dean is left listening to his even breathing, realizing that he had fallen asleep. He remembers whispering a good night to the other male through the phone before hanging up and going to sleep himself.

They text sporadically the next two days, Dean on Roman’s phone, but he spends a lot of his time busy with helping Mom or Dad around the house, generally babysitting Maria. Roman needed his phone a lot too, with how many members of the football team kept messaging him. Dean doesn’t ask, but Roman lets him know most of the text messages were asking about him.

When school starts on Monday and Dad goes to work, it’s just Mom, Dean, and Maria in the house. Not that Dean minds. It helps Mom a lot, who trusts Dean to watch after his little sister while she tries to straighten the house some. When Maria is napping, Dean does his best to help around the house too.

On Tuesday, Roman comes home and tells him over a fourth of the student body had organized a riot. Except this riot was quiet. It was held during the full school day and the students sat at the football field, not saying a word and refusing to go to class. No one was sure who organized it, but it had been of people who had known Dean well, or who had classes or activities with Dean. Roman admits to his mom that he had joined after his third period, but she doesn’t get mad. She just nods with a small smile and asked him to help her with dinner.

On Wednesday, Roman came home and told Dean over half of the school were in the quiet riots now. He had pictures and showed Dean. Everyone was bundled up against the chill of the fall air, but they were mostly all sitting on the bleachers, the dance team sitting on the field, their hair pulled into pigtails, throwing up peace signs for the camera when Roman was taking a picture.

On Thursday, Roman is giving Dean a small local newspaper, where Dean’s story is there and there is the story of the quiet riots. Roman has more photos, showing John and the football team had started passing out hot chocolate. There are teachers in the riots now, most notably Mr. Colter and Mr. Regal. Roman tells him Coach Ross is also there and Paul Heyman had been spotted giving snacks to Mr. Regal for the students, supposedly. He would never be caught directly involved in this.

Friday afternoon comes, Roman coming back, his cheeks still pink from the chill in the air, but he’s smiling. He tells Dean that Seth and Randy joined them today; that Punk had a megaphone and was taking charge. He tells Dean that nearly all of the student had joined in the quiet riots now and since Punk was in charge, it was still actually quiet. Apparently, some of the guys had started wearing skirts and lip gloss. The small local newspaper had another story about it, as did a slightly bigger paper. Dean and Seth talk into the night again when Seth calls Roman’s phone and requests to talk to him.

Sunday presents John and Randy, both beaming at Dean like they have the best news to give him. Turns out his suspension was over and he could return to school the next day. John had brought Dean his school things and more clothes. Dean was prepared for the next day.

As it goes, though, somehow the fact that the suspension wasn’t going to be removed from his record got around. Dean and Ro arrive and park, only to be directed by none other than AJ Lee to the football field – after she nearly hugs the life out of Dean, of course.

Dean is welcomed back by _everyone_ , including people he hadn’t even talked to before. The dance team were quite nearly in tears over the whole affair, but Dean just pulls them all into a big group hug. He’s half sure his face is covered in a mixture of lipsticks and lip glosses by the time he gets away. Mr. Regal and Mr. Colter both welcome him back enthusiastically, Colter having to break up a building debate between Mr. Regal and Dean about just how stupid Dean’s decision had been.

Ro hadn’t been lying though. Punk was in fact in control. Everyone was still sitting on the bleaches, a lot of which also sat on the running track as well, some on the field. They were all allowed to talk until the bell rang, then Punk turns on his megaphone and speaks as softly into it as he can.

“If you can hear my voice, please clap once and close your mouth.” A great majority of the students clap, it going eerily silent. “If you can hear my voice, please clap twice and close your mouth.” Everyone claps and the silence continues. “If you can hear my voice, please clap three times and keep your mouths shut.” Three claps, Dean amazed at just how much power Punk really had. “Good. Good, this is _good_. Much better than Friday. I’m so proud. Silent applause, please, for yourselves.” The dance team – sitting on the field behind Punk with what seems to be the cheerleaders – all raise their hands and wiggle their fingers. Everyone follows their lead.

It was an experience to have, honestly. Dean is shocked at just how quiet a large group of teenagers can truly keep when united by a cause. The majority of the student council end up joining the dance team on the field, where Dean is invited up to sit with them. About an hour into the quiet riot, Seth, Nikki, John, and Randy all show up with what look to be little bags of goodies – tons of them. There were enough for everyone. They had little bags of chips in them, candy, and little buttons that say _Member of the Quiet Riot_. Dean would laugh, if he didn’t want to cause a ripple effect. Nikki and Seth both end up sitting on the field as well, Seth sitting right at Dean’s side and offering him the bag of goodies with a small smile. Dean takes it with a smile of his own.

For it to be nearly eight hours of silence, time passes surprisingly fast through all of this. Just because there was relative silence doesn’t mean it was boring. More often than not, there would be a five minute period of noise every hour, then lunch time was a talk allowed period. During the noise break, the cheerleaders would lead a cheer or the dance team would perform a dance. During the noise break, Punk would lead a loud chant. And even though they weren’t allowed to talk, a lot of students texted on their phones, all the devices on silent. Some listened to music with their headphones in. Some ised the time to study.

It was a week of this – a week of this truly spiritual experience – before an announcement came on Friday afternoon. Paul Heyman had come out of the back doors of the school and rushed over to Punk, muttering something in his ear. It was a brief discussion before Punk is sounding out the siren on his megaphone, AJ mimicking him quickly – AJ had gotten a megaphone on Wednesday; Dean was pretty jealous. As AJ’s siren continues to wail, Punk is making the announcement loudly through his megaphone.

“The suspension has been revoked. The quiet riot of the century has been a success!” He shouts into his megaphone. The stands, which had been tense while they waited for the news, explode into loud applause and cheers. Dean gets goosebumps and grins as Punk is pulling him to his feet, raising his hand up like he had just won a wrestling match.

They thought they might have been home free for the day, really. Dean and Roman were messing around as they were heading towards the parking lot with the rest of the student body when Hunter is coming out of the door in front of them. Roman is immediately tensing, his eyes sizing up the older man and clenching his jaw as he meets their Vice Principal’s eyes. They aren’t… unkind, not really. They’re strict, but they seem to be seeing Dean in an entirely different light than they had a month ago. Dean doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Hunter doesn’t waste time, though, just tells him he needs to come to his office, that there was someone who wanted to talk to him.

Roman tells Dean that he would be waiting in the car. Dean can do nothing more than agree, plopping a kiss to Roman’s temple without hesitation. He’s getting up to Roman’s height now – hell, he might even pass him up. How amazing would that be?

Dean’s lead into the office and into Stephanie’s office, but is surprised to find an older man sitting in her chair, her standing to the side with her hands folded behind her back. “Sit down, Mr. Cena,” the man says, his voice rough but not unkind, throwing Dean off. Dean does as he’s told with hesitation, glancing over to where Hunter had gone to stand by Stephanie. “I’m taking it you have absolutely no idea who I am.”

“No sir,” Dean replies, his voice smaller, because he has a bad feeling about who this man was. If Stephanie was standing to the side…

“My name, Mr. Cena, is Vincent Kennedy McMahon.” The name makes Dean’s mouth go dry. “I’m sure you’ve heard my name before, if only because it is in the name of the school you attend.” Dean nods mutely and the _not unkind_ look on Mr. McMahon’s face twists some as he smiles, his eyes calculating. “You see, Mr. Cena, I’m actually here to talk about these… _quiet riots_ that had gone on these past two weeks. It was… quite the organized crime, if I do say so myself.” Dean stares right him, almost scared to blink. “And I’m just wondering how you managed to do it.”

The words throw Dean off, because he didn’t. He didn’t do it. He barely knows how to text, but he can’t expect anyone besides Roman – and Seth – to know that. Dean opens his mouth to speak, half expecting to be interrupted, but Mr. McMahon is looking at him with that same calculating look in his eyes. “I-“ his voice cracks, he clears it, shifting in his chair. “I… didn’t, sir.” It was the truth, but it comes out feeble, Dean’s brow knitting in confusion when he realizes that… Yeah, the riots _were_ organized past the point of being something random. “I mean, I wish I did, but I didn’t.”

“You wish you did?” Mr. McMahon repeats, leaning back in the chair to level Dean with eyes that were slightly less calculating. “You’re going to have to forgive me, Mr. Cena, for not believing you didn’t do this.”

“Sir,” Dean says slowly, “Mr. McMahon, I own a flip phone from 2004 that was taken away from me the Friday night I was suspended. I left my house that night and have spent the last two weeks with a friend. He owns an iPhone, and I used it, but it takes me 10 seconds to type one word on it. I didn’t even know the riots were happening until my friend came home and told me. But believe me, sir, when I say I wouldn’t be quiet about this if I was the one to have done it. This is… This is big, that was one of the most… inspirational thing I have ever been a part of. And for it to be for me? I felt like I was placed into a movie.” He clears his throat, building up his confidence. “But, sir, while we are not on a… friendly level, I would prefer it if you called me Dean. I’m about as much a Cena as I am a McMahon, which is, obviously, not at all.”

Mr. McMahon gives a short hum, his look turning thoughtful as he surveys Dean. “So you didn’t do it?” He repeats Dean’s words back to him. Dean shakes his head. “And you have no idea who did it?” Dean shakes his head again. “And why should I trust you?”

“I have absolutely nothing to lie about, sir,” Dean states. “I was already suspended, and I was expecting to be expelled. Mr. and Mrs. Helmsley-McMahon here have been trying to get rid of me since I got here and I thought this would be the tipping point. I… My best friend tells me that my only fault is that I have no sense of self-preservation. I don’t care about getting hurt myself if that means everyone else is okay.”

“That’s a dangerous way to live, Dean,” Mr. McMahon comments, but he has this pleased look on his face. “Hunter, Stephanie, may I have a minute alone with Dean here?”

“Dad, I don’t know if that’s a very good idea…” Stephanie tries immediately, but Mr. McMahon is waving her off.

“Just a few minutes, that’s all I need,” he assures. Hunter and Stephanie both hesitate for a split moment. “I said give me a few minutes, damn it!” Mr. McMahon snaps, startling Dean. Stephanie and Hunter both move quickly towards the door, however. Apparently that’s all that took. As soon as the door closes, Vince focuses on Dean again. “So, Dean, what are your plans for after school?”

That’s… the last thing that he had been expecting. Dean feels like he’s been caught red-handed or something, but he is floundering to answer so Mr. McMahon doesn’t yell at _him_. “I-I don’t have much plans for after school, sir. I’m more worried about getting through high school, but I think I want to go into professional wrestling.”

“Professional wrestling?” Mr. McMahon repeats, seeming to think this over. “I could see that,” he allows, “But I was hoping you would say something like law, or teaching, or politics.”

“Politics?” Dean repeats, wrinkling his nose. “I don’t think I would do very good in politics, sir.”

“You’re doing well in both student council and debate, and you’re extraordinary at lying, Dean,” Mr. McMahon tells him, throwing Dean for a loop once again. He _still_ doesn’t believe Dean, but he’s giving Dean life advice anyway. “I see something in you that makes me think you could do significantly well in the politics realm of careers.”

“I… Thanks?” Dean offers, unsure of what else to really say, perplexed. Mr. McMahon offers an easy smile.

“It’s not a problem. I do think it would be best to let you get on your way, however, Dean,” he says smoothly, standing. Dean follows suite quickly and follows the older man to the door.

As it opens, Dean looks out to see that standing with Stephanie and Hunter are their children, Randy and Seth. Dean smiles as he walks out, offering a small wave to Seth. “Heya, Princess.” Seth gives a smile back, but the smile is short lived when Stephanie is already rearing up at the opportunity to put Dean in his place.

“ _What_ did you just call my son?!” She demands, looking fierce and angry that such a nickname had been placed on her little boy.

“Mom, it’s okay-“ Seth tries, but Stephanie is stalking closer to Dean, heels clicking maliciously. Dean finds himself backing up behind Mr. McMahon again, into the office some.

“You have caused so much chaos these past two weeks, Mr. Cena, and here you go again, stepping over your bound-“ she is hissing at him, but Seth is raising his voice to cut her off.

“Mom! It’s fine!” He repeats again. Stephanie stops and looks over at Seth, confusion etched on his face. “It’s just something he does, giving people dumb nicknames. If I had a problem with it, Dean would stop, but it’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”

“I didn’t know you and my grandson were friends?” Mr. McMahon says, but it’s phrased as a question. He’s looking back to where Dean was coming forward slowly again; Dean not hesitating in eyeing Stephanie like she would pounce on him at any moment. Dean risks a glance at Mr. McMahon, then looks to Seth, eyes questioning if they were. Were they _friends_?

“Yeah,” Seth doesn’t hesitate when he realizes Dean is looking at him. “Yeah, we started talking some before he was suspended. Dean’s a great guy. Definitely a character.” The half-blond flashes an innocent smile.

“Not in the least bit surprised. Hell, I’m more surprised at how harmonious Randy and the elder Mr. Cena are with each other than you two. I knew there was something familiar about you, Dean. You have the same wow factor that I saw in my grandson here!” Mr. McMahon exclaims, clapping Seth on the shoulder and smiling.

“Yeah, we’re pretty much cut from the same cloth,” Seth tells his grandfather easily, looking at Dean with the same smile he had been giving him earlier. Dean grins back, feeling elated. Hunter and Stephanie both exchange unhappy looks, but they don’t say anything.

“You gonna be home tonight, Dean?” Randy asks after a brief silence, Dean’s eyes cutting over to him. “John’s been planning a proper celebration for our last win of the regular season before the playoffs start. Not to mention it’s, you know, Halloween.” Was it? God, Dean hadn’t even known… That means that he probably totally ruined AJ’s idea for a Halloween costume contest. He’d apologize later.  

“I’m actually gonna be going home with Ro again, so I dunno. If he goes, then yeah, I’ll be there, but I don’t think he is. His cousin’s in town,” Dean says with a shrug. It makes sense why Roman’s cousin was in town now. They tended to love Halloween. Mom must have been really busy keeping an eye on Dean and Maria. Randy takes Dean’s answer in stride, thankfully, nodding. “Tell John to cause some trouble for me, yeah?”

“Yeah, man, of course,” Randy assures, giving a bright and sharp grin that Dean mirrors. See, Randy could understand Dean to an extent. Maybe that was another reason John was getting better with handling Dean. He could only imagine how bad Randy could get.

Dean was beginning to walk away when Seth speaks again. “Text me later?” Seth asks him, his voice a tad hopeful. Dean turns to face him, nodding immediately before jerking a thumb behind him.

“Should get out to Roman, but I’ll definitely text you later,” he assures, loving the smile Seth gives. Small, friendly, innocent. They’re definitely getting somewhere. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. McMahon, sir,” Dean adds, looking the elder man right in the eye and stepping forward to shake his hand. It’s firm but quick. “I’ll definitely look into what it takes to get into politics, and you’ll be one of the first people I contact as soon as I find out for sure what I wanna do after high school.”

With that, Dean heads off, hearing Stephanie give a whispered demand of, “Politics, Dad? _Really_?” when she thinks Dean can’t hear. It makes the smile on his face grow ever more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Actually getting to the Ambrollins now, so excited.
> 
> Kudos and comments are the way to my heart.
> 
> And chocolate, of course.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos would definitely be appreciated if you like it!


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